Clear Examplesof
Sin in the Flesh

As we begin, let us recall that scripture declares: "sin is a transgression of God's
law"

(I John 3: 4). It is
likewise revealed that, according to the mind of God, desiring
to do that which is sin is to desire to break God's law. That fact is proven by the fact that the
Tenth Commandment (Deuteronomy 5: 21) was a law that forbade a man to desire his neighbor's wife; or anything
that belonged to his neighbor. In Exodus
20: 3-17 we also find the Ten Commandments of God in which Verse 17 sets forth
the Tenth Commandment as does Deuteronomy 5: 21. In Exodus, we see the term "covet;” to desire
a neighbor's wife or his other possessions is to covet them. Webster defines the term "covet" in
this manner: "To desire ardently
(especially, something that another person has).”

2. over-mastering
desire: as, a lust for power, or to feel an intense desire..."

Therefore, when the Tenth Commandment is broken, a man has desired, coveted, or lusted after that
which he should not seek to possess. Let
us not forget that in

James 1: 13-15 we are told that: "Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust, (desire,
or covet ) and enticed.”

Therefore, it is
beyond doubt that God's mind, regarding desiring that which belongs to one's neighbor is the same in both Testaments.Desiring, coveting and lusting each take
place within the mind or flesh of a person and are not outward transgressions,
although, they often result in outward action which violates the law of
God.It should now be obvious how the
words of Jesus tell the truth when he says in Matthew 15: 19: "Forout of the heart (or mind)
proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications; thefts, false
witness, blasphemies."

It is according to the truth of God that every sin that can
be committed, begins with the desire
to commit the act. The desire is as much a transgression of
God's law as is the committing of the act (Deuteronomy 5: 21), and, no sin is
ever committed unless the desire
first enters the mind. To deny the
existence of "sin in the flesh" is to commit the same sin as
committed by the serpent in Eden (Genesis 3:
1-5), that is, God’s spoken truth is denied.

A Sin in the Flesh

II Samuel 11: 1-27 relates how desire within a man results in outward transgression of God's law. As David arose and walked upon his roof, he
saw a beautiful married woman bathing herself.
Immediately, David broke the Tenth Commandment, for he desired his
neighbor's wife, which was a transgression of that law. As he stood on his roof watching the woman,
he had not yet committed the sin of action, but God's commandment was already
broken by David's desire for his neighbor's wife. Subsequent activity then led to the transgression of adultery
(Deuteronomy 5: 18), thus, David broke two of the Ten Commandments: 1, the desire
for his neighbor's wife; and 2, the action of committing adultery. Therefore, sin was present in David's flesh
before the desire developed into the
activity of adultery. No sin is ever committed
by anyone, without the desire to do that
which is forbidden, first enters the mind, which is in the flesh of man.
Therefore, there is 1, "sin in the flesh" and 2, an outward, personal
sin results.

Another Instance

In Numbers 22: 1-41: We read of the sin of Balaam who greedily desired (Jude 11) the wages offered him,
which were "the wages of unrighteousness ( II Peter 2: 15). Is it not abundantly clear that before Balaam
left home and traveled toward the place where Israel could be cursed, that the desire for the wages was in his mind
prior to making any move toward where he was asked to go? Therefore, his sin began in his mnd before
any action occurred. Consequently, his desire for those wages caused God to
send his angel to opposed Balaam. Thus,
there is in the narrative both 1, "Sin in the flesh,” and 2, The outward
committing of sin of seeking to earn the wages he should never have desired.

There are plenty of other examples to be found in
Scripture. However, if these two
examples do not prove the point, then those who deny these truths will never be
turned from those errors. Our prayer is
that God's truth will be seen and allow those opposing truth can reap the
blessing that soon will be bestowed upon many servant of God from all Ages.

Wayne R.
Tanner, March 20, 2017

In the Beginning,was
the Word

Introduction

This small group, the Christadelphians is among the most
blessed of people anywhere in the world of seven billion people, for Matthew
18: 20 assures us that Jesus is in the midst of every small group of even two
or three who are truly "in Christ."
Does it occur to everyone what a blessing it is to truly be "in
Christ" and to be truly his servants unto whom Jesus will be returning?

Question what does it mean, to
“be in Christ?”

Regarding the Old
Testament, Hebrews 11th Chapter speaks volumes, for verses 13 and 40 calls our attention the
fact that all those mentioned in the chapter,
await God's blessings that were promised so long ago. The point is, that that which was and is to
be believed has been since the beginning, although almost the entire world of
religion greatly misunderstands it, therefore do not believe it. Yet,
as John wrote, "It was all
from the beginning," not just from
New Testament times; that was John's message in the first chapter of the Gospel
according to John – that is, it began in Eden, not just a few years before John wrote.

Hebrews 11th chapter makes the
point that the class of people mentioned throughout the chapter, believed God's "word" and had strong faith in it, knowing that what
God had promised, He was fully able to
perform (Romans 4: 21). Those who heard and believed the
"word" are promised by Hebrews
11th Chapter to be blessed eternally by the Father (Hebrews 11: 40). Those who
heard not and believed not are said in Psalms 78: 39 to be destined to
"pass away and come not again."
Mark 16: 15-16 says of such that
they are "damned” if they believed not what was preached, that is, the
gospel of Jesus Christ (Romans 1: 16)
which has been since "the beginning".

The Apostle Paul in Acts
19: 1-7 encountered just such a group. They were a small group of men who had failed to understand and revere God's
logos
or word of truth that they had heard preached.
They could not answer the all-important question Paul asked them
concerning Jesus and the truth in him.
Therefore, he set about to teach what they needed to know and immersed
them again. Why would the re-immersion
be necessary if it is not required that we fully understand the gospel of Jesus
Christ (Romans 1: 16) prior to baptism? Those
men thought they were in Christ, but really, they were not because of a lack of
belief.

Therefore, 2 Timothy 4: 2-4 should be a sober warning to everyone,
especially all who have turned their ears away from the truth and turned unto
fables, or things that are not true. We
must keep in mind Mark 16: 15-16,
“whosoever believes and is baptized shall be saved, and those who do not are eternally lost.”

Also, the account of the
Philippian jailer is vital to keep in mind (Acts 16: 25-31, “Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved."

It is a fact that every single
truth of God found in the New Testament, can be found in the stated truths as
well as the types and shadows of the Old Testament.

Beloved ones, how very
fortunate is this small group, for you, along with all other such small groups
believing the truth, await the return of Jesus.
At that precious time, those who have lived lives pleasing to our Father
in heaven will become as the immortal angels in heaven; and as Jesus himself
now is and even as God Himself is. And
that is possible only if we continue in the logos or word of God's
truth which has been from the beginning.

The Logos from the Beginning

We read in John 1: 1, “In the
beginning was the word”. The term “word is translated from the Greek term “logoV” (logos). The Apostle John is saying, “In The
Beginning was the truth,” “the word of God,” “logos tou Theos", "the gospel of Jesus Christ." (Luke
8: 4-11, Romans 1: 16). Luke, in his
version of the parable of the sower ( Luke 8: 11), refers to the “seed that is
sown, as “the word of God,” an English phrase from the Greek logoV tou qeou. Also, in
Rom. 9:9 we encounter the phrase “word
of promise” from the Greek phrase logoV epaggeliaV (logos
epangelias) meaning “word of
promise”.

In Acts 7: 22 we read in
Stephen’s last account where “Moses was mighty in deed and word” (ergoiV xai
logoV); In Acts 20: 7, Paul is
said to have continued his speech or (logos) ... until midnight. Since Jesus had sent his apostles through the
world to preach the gospel (Mark 16: 15-16), logos in the passage
speaks of the “preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ”. Interestingly, the
term “doctrine” in Hebrews 6: 1 is translated from the Greek term logos.

In 11 Peter 1: 19 we read where
the fulfilled prophesies concerning Christ made the word of prophesy "more
sure” since they had witnessed the fulfillment of all those prophesies, Greek
"projhticon logoV ".

We must keep in mind that the
term logoV (logos) is translated”word”
208 times in the New Testament. It
always refers to something that was said or written, referring to the Old Testament that God had
spoken to his prophets, who then wrote
that logoV which they had received from God.

Twelve of the occurrences of Logos
occur in the book of Revelation referring to something that was yet future from
the time of John’s prophetic vision. It
spoke of the word or truth of that which comes from God either in spoken word
or in writing. Logos is translated
“speech” 8 times; and is translated “saying” 50 times. It is never translated “Jesus” or “Christ”
even one time.

“The word was with God” –
That is, God’s logoV or truth was
always with Him, or in His mind, for He has taught it to every generation of
believers for six thousand years. Also,
God’s promises, His plan and purpose, were always in His mind and therefore,
were “with Him.

Again, in Romans 9: 9 we see
the Greek phrase paggaliaV o logoV (word of promise). This passage refers to a truth that was
present with every promise God ever made, even to the promise by God to Abram
in Gen. 15: 12-17, that his seed or
descendants would be in a strange land for 400 years. That passage with Acts 7: 6-17 shows how this
Logos or “word of promise was with God for those 400 years, for “when the time
of the promise drew nigh,” God fulfilled that promise. So when God speaks his Logos or word, it stays
with Him until to time to fulfill the “Logos of promise.”

Therefore, it is an established
fact that of God’s doctrines, His
prophecies and His promises all remain “with Him” never passing from His mind.

“The word (logoV) was God.” The apostate world
of religion misunderstands that statement to mean that Jesus was God. That is not even close to what the passage
says or means. Many times, the statement that something “is” or “was,” speaks
of “representation.” For instance:

1 Cor. 10: 4
speaks of the rock that WAS Jesus. Here Paul writes of a rock in the Sinai out
of which water to drink was brought forth.
The truth is that the rock was a
type or a representation of Christ.
Christ was not a lifeless rock that had been situated at that spot for
years, even for centuries in the wilderness of Sinai. Out of Jesus comes life giving substance that
a person needs, for it springs up into everlasting life (John 4: 9-14).

Also, on the night before Jesus
was crucified, he instituted the first memorial service for his disciples and
others to keep until his return. He
first took the loaf and said “This IS my body.” It is important to keep in mind that
Christ’s body had not yet been crucified.
Therefore, Jesus meant that “the loaf represented his body” that would soon be crucified. He then took the cup and speaking of the “fruit
of the vine,” said of what was in the cup, “This IS my blood.” Literal
blood was not in that cup, because the blood of Jesus was still flowing through
his body.

Therefore, the contents of the cup represented his blood, Today, we still put
the fruit of the vine in the cup and say, this IS or represents “the blood of Jesus.” Yet, even small children in our midst know
that literal blood is not drunk by those partaking of the memorial service.
What we drink is a representation of the blood of Jesus.

Therefore, the phrase “was God” simply states that the
word or truth that had been from the beginning was representative of God, His plan and purpose that has continued from
the beginning.

The Apostle John, in these
verses was simply telling his readers that everything they had witnessed in the
last three and a half years, was not something that had unexpectedly
happened. Therefore, it was all laid out
at the time of the Garden of Eden in the logoV
(or the word of promise and prophecy). All that had happened was fully
expected by the servants of God, for it was all foretold in the logos
or word of God in “the beginning.”

As stated above, it is
informative when we are told in the parable of the sower (Luke 8: 11) that the
seed that was sown was “the word or logoV of
God that had been from the beginning, and was all written in the Old Testament
which was the only Bible in existence at that time, and for two hundred more
years.

John's words in John 1: 1-2 are
simply saying that for 4000 years from the beginning, words came forth from God
giving his servants the gospel of truth, who then wrote it down, using many words (logos) . For those 4000 years, the entire truth of God
could be known from the written word.
When those 4000 years of knowing the truth from words; there suddenly appeared the man about whom the words spoke, a man who was flesh and
blood, having been born of a woman. Now, since the man was born, the Old
Testament, the written word was no
longerthe only source of the truth. It could now be heard from the mouth of Jesus
himself, and his apostles.

All Things were Made by Him

John 1: 3

Nearly every version of the New Testament goes astray in this
verse. The Emphatic Diaglott presents the truth regarding this verse. The Logos does not speak of a
person, but speaks only of things that
were either said or written. Instead of the pronoun “him” that is used by so
many in the translation of the Greek “autou”(autou),
the Diaglott renders the word by the
English “it,” and that is the proper translation because the passage is not
referring to a person, but to the principle of speaking or writing.

It should also be noted that
Jesus, speaking of himself in John 5: 30, says, “I can of mine own self, do nothing,
I hear; I judge; and my judgment in just, because I seek not mine own
will, but the will of the Father who sent me.”

How senseless is the very idea
that Jesus is the maker of all things, when he himself testifies that he could
do nothing of himself. It is also true
that Jesus himself declared in John 14: 10: “Believest thou not that I am in
the Father, and the Father in me? The
words that I speak unto you, I speak not
of myself; but the Father that dwelleth in me,
he doeth the works.”

Also, in Acts 2: 22, the
Apostle Peter stood up and said to that vast number of assembled Jews: “Ye
men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among
you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of
you, as ye yourselves also know.”

It is Bible truth that every
single miraculous thing that Jesus is said to have done during his earthly
mission, was done by God through Jesus. Notice the word “by” in both John 1: 3
and Acts 2: 22. That English word “by” is translated from the Greek term “dia” (dia in English). The Greek term “dia” is translated by the
English term “through” 87 times. “Dia”
is Strong’s number 1223 as dealt with on page 22 of the Greek Dictionary in the
back. Strong’s defines the term “dia” as
“denoting the channel of an act.”
Therefore, in such instances, God is the doer of the act, while Jesus is
the channel through which God performs the acts.

It must also be remembered that
God himself often declared that he himself is the Creator of all things and
everything that is therein. Notice:

Isaiah 45: 24 - “Thus saith the Lord (Yahveh), thy redeemer, and he who formed thee from the
womb: I am the Lord who maketh all things ; who stretcheth forth the heavens
alone; who spreadeth abroad the earth by myself”.

Isaiah 45: 18 -
“For thus saith the Lord (Yahveh) who created the heavens, God himself who formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in
vain, he formed it to be inhabited. I am
the Lord (Yahveh) and there is none else.”

It is written that Jesus came
in his Father’s name (John 5: 43), that is, his Fathers purpose, but not called
by the name of the Father. Jesus was not
even the redeemer alone and by himself.
God declared in Isaiah 45: 24 that He was Israel’s redeemer as He had
said in Chapter 43:11, “beside me there is no savior”.Again in Isaiah 45: 21, Yahveh
declared, “There is no God else beside
me, a just God and a savior; there is none else beside me”.

A reasonable question then is,
how is it that when Jesus was born, an angel said to the shepherds, “in the city of David, a saviour is
born?” Also,“… grace, mercy and peace, from
God, the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, our savior.”

There are a number of other
passages of scripture referring to Jesus as our savior. It is a Bible truth
that often Yahveh works through other individuals, and God declares Himself to
be in such individuals , carrying out His purpose through them.

We see that same circumstance
with the angel sent before Israel at the time of the Exodus. God told Moses in Exodus 23: 20-21 that he
should beware and not provoke that angel because “my name is in him”.In
other words, Moses is told to consider the angel to be God Himself. From the time of the Exodus that angel was
even called Yahveh; and Yahveh Elohim (the Lord God). We are also told that the Lord (Yahveh) saved
Israel that day (Exodus 14: 30). Yet, we
are informed that it was “the angel of His presence” (Isa. 63: 9) that saved
them. Which is right? They are both right, for God saved Israel by
the angel He sent before them.

The Consequences of Being From the
Beginning

1. The promised one must be a descendant of
Eve. If Christ was from the beginning as
Adam and Eve were, He would not be her descendant, and death should not be upon
him.

2. If he was to be able to die as was necessary,
he must be mortal and could not have lived from the beginning to 4000 years
later. No mortal has lived 1000 years, much less 4000 years.

3. If he was to die for anyone, he had to either
have sinned himself, or inherited mortality from someone else. Who?

4. He must offer for himself and for the people,
which meant he himself needed atonement ((Heb.
5:4; 7:27. Why, if he was not descended
from Adam or Eve?

5. Daniel 9:
24-27 - 483 years from 457 to 27 A. D. when Jesus was baptized to become
the Messiah.

That Whichwas From the Beginning

I John 1: 1

The Apostle John wrote of
Christ in I John 1: 1, and refers to
him, "that was in the beginning",
"which we have heard, which
we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, our hands have handled of the Word of
life".

It must be remembered that God
spoke His word to the writers of the O.
T. the same as to the writers of the New
Testament. What is true of one, is
true of the other. In the Old Testament,
God spoke of others than Jesus who, to him had pre-existed to him in a fashion,
though they did not appear to anyone else on the earth. This applies to anyone,
and everyone who God planned in advance to utilize in His plan and purpose for
the earth and mankind. Let us examine:

Jeremiah 1: 5

Psalms 139: 14-16

Isaiah 44: 28; 45: 1

I CameDown from Heaven

In John 6: 38, Jesus declared that he himself was
"from heaven above". Many who
read such passages, imagining the scriptures are teaching the pre-existence of
Jesus. Such statements mean no such
thing, for it is also declared in John 1: 6 that John also came from God who is
in heaven. No one believes that John pre-existed in heaven and that he came
down to the earth from heaven. John came
down from God in the sense that foretold John's certainty to exist in Malachi
3: 1.

John 1: 7 declares that the
messenger who was to mentioned in verse 1 was John. Therefore,
God's power descended from heaven to bring John into existence as had
been prophesied.

So it was also with Jesus. He was foretold all through Scripture. Then
God's angel appeared to Mary the mother of Jesus in Luke 1: 26-38 assuring her of the coming birth of Jesus. Luke 1:
35 assures Mary that the power of the Holy Spirit from God would
overshadow her and cause the existence of Jesus to become a fact. The existence of Jesus began with the descent
of the Holy Spirit from heaven, just as was true (in a different sense – that
of primal knowledge and approval) of John.
In that sense, they both descended from God, therefore, since he caused
both of them to come into being by His power that descended from Him.

It is important that we
understand that the "holy city" also comes down from heaven and from
God (Revelation 21: 2). We also read in Revelation 21: 8-12 that the holy city
is constituted by the resurrected saints as "The Bride of
Christ." Proverbs 10: 30 assures us that none of the righteous will
ever be removed from the earth, so they will never have been in heaven. However, “the holy city" was foretold by
God in heaven and will be brought into existence by God, just as were Jesus and
John.

In the Beginning,the Creation of Man

In Genesis 2: 7 we read: “And the
Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground,
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a
living soul.”

Question: What is a soul ? What Adam became was a "Chai Nephesh" in Hebrew.

The Hebrew term
"Nephesh" is translated "soul" 428 times.

Nephesh is translated
"life" 119 times.

Nephesh is translated "mind" 15 times. times.

It is also true that souls are born (Exodus 1: 5; Exodus 46: 22-27.

Souls are
destroyed, slain (Joshua 9th through the 11th chapter; Ezekiel 18: 4, 20. Question:
Does not Matt. 10: 28 prove the soul is not mortal” Answer: No, it does

not, for Verse 28 say God is able to destroy both soul
and body. Also compare Matt. 10: 28 with
Luke 12: 4-5 to see what Jesus' message
really was.

In the New Testament the Greek
word "psuche" is translated "soul" 58 times.

Psuche is also translated
"life" 40 times.

Jesus gave his life as a ransom
(Matt. 20: 28; Mark 10: 45. Is it
logical that a ransom, after it is paid, is still the possession of the one
paying the ransom? If Jesus' soul was
immortal, he could not have given it up
to anything or anyone.

The record does not at all
indicate that when formed of the dust, man received anything from anywhere, no
soul or anything, only the breath of life.
The record declares that what was made of the dust BECAME what it was
afterward, “a living soul.”

At this point, let us consider the dust before it was formed
into a man. Was there any knowledge or
any form of existence in that dust before it was formed into a man? No!
Absolutely nothing was in that dust before it became a man. After it became a man, then became “a living
soul”, there was knowledge and ability in it.

Now, let us notice that after
the man failed the test, transgressing the law of God, as he was sentenced for
his disobedience, he was told, “dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou
return (Genesis 3: 19).In
other words, Adam was sentenced to return to what he was before he was formed
into a man. In our reasoning on the
subject, did we find that he was a conscious entity with a thinking, acting
ability? No, we did not, and he was
sentenced to return to what he was before he was formed.

Now, let us consider this. If we compare Psalms 146: 3-4, we find that death for man is the exact
opposite of the creative process, dust, then the man, then the life. In death, we find that in death. there is
life, then death with no life, then to dust.
In other words, he was to return to what he was when he was the dust of
the earth. That does not sound anything
like the popular, apostate doctrine of man’s nature and destiny, for in that,
we hear them seek to teach us, that in death, there is a continuance of
life in heaven where man was never promised he would or could go. In other words, that is a repetition of the
serpents lie, that “thou shalt not surely die”.
That is in opposition to God’s truth.
Let us begin to examine the Bible doctrine of death and see what we
find.

The State of the Dead

1. Job 14th chapter - "Man lieth down and
riseth not. Also, if a man die, shal he live again?

2. Genesis
3: 17- 19- Thou shalt surely die.
John 3: 13 - No man hath ascended into heaven but he that came down from
heaven..."

John 11: 23-25- "I am the resurrection and the life.
Lazarus shall live again.” When Lazarus was raised, from where did he
come, from heaven, or the tomb ?

Luke 14: 14 –“Thou shalt be
recompensed at the resurrection of the just."

Matt. 22: 31 - Which
say there is no resurrection. Heaven
going also denies the resurrection.

Acts 23: 6 The hope of the resurrection".

Acts 24:`14-16 - There shall be
a resurrection of the dead.

Matt.
28: 1-10 - Jesus was the first to be resurrected as the antitype or
forerunner of all of us (Heb. 6: 20).
Jesus did not come down from heaven at His resurrection but emerged from the tomb, and more than
forty days later, he ascended bodily to heaven, after telling his apostle they could not come to heaven (John 13:
32-33). The importance of the resurrection subject is not just that a
man lived again. The importance is that
it is a resurrection unto something far greater, the promises of God.

Wayne
Tanner, Bulverde, Texas, USA

Have
the AbrahamicPromises
been Fulfilled?

Nearly two hundred years ago, a young,
English physician named John Thomas, decided to migrate to America. As their ship was not far from their
destination, they ran into trouble and feared that the ship was about to be
destroyed. John Thomas went into prayer
to God, promising that if the ship was allowed to safely reach port, that he
would spend the rest of his life in search of God’s truth and be in God’s
service.

The ship did reach port safely in
spite of their fears that it would not.
True to his promise, as the young physician started his life in America,
he began to examine various religious groups.
He finally joined up with an apostate group of religious thinkers. He even began to produce some monthly
writings for them.

In his continued to search the
Scriptures, he became quite aware of God’s promises to Abraham and was certain
that those promises had a definite connection with the subject of God’s plan
for a kingdom on the earth. He found no
help from his apostate companions, for their doctrine embraced the hope of
eternity in heaven for the righteous, and any promises pertaining to eternal
life on the earth was of no value to them.

The
Apostate’s answers to the passages that pertained to God’s promises to “Abraham”
was that God had fulfilled all his promises to Abraham in giving the
descendants of Abraham possession of the land of Israel for their kingdom. However, they also projected that since the
Israelites had rebelled, that God was eternally through with Abraham’s
descendants forever. Many apostate
groups have, for many years, taught that their church is the kingdom of God that
God had promised, and that their churches were the pathway to heaven.

Such
promises as I Kings 8: 56 and Joshua 21: 43-45 are clear references to messages
spoken to Israel through Moses rather than to Abraham. The possibility of the promise to Abraham in
Genesis 13: 14-15 having been fulfilled absolutely did not exist. Galatians 3: 16 declares that the “seed”
mentioned in that promises was not to the many persons in the nation of
Israel. The Apostle Paul clearly
declares Christ was the Seed of
Genesis 13: 14-15. Yet, Abraham and
Jesus never lived at the same time. When
Abraham lived, the life of Jesus was two thousand years into the future. Likewise, when Jesus was born Abraham had
been dead to two thousand years.
Therefore, the fulfillment of the promise required both Jesus and
Abraham to be present at the same time.
That can only be when Jesus returns to the earth; and Abraham comes
forth from the grave.

Therefore, Joshua 21: 43-45 and I
Kings 8: 56 are not relative to the promise to Abraham and Christ, and those in
Christ (Galatians 3: 29), but to things God later said to Israel through Moses. Imagine being made an heir by baptism to a
promise that some claim was fulfilled 1500 years before their baptism. This
clearly demonstrates how apostate error disannuls the perfect and clear word of
God.

The “fathers” referred to in Joshua
43: 43 were thought to be a reference to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. That is clearly a mistake. All we have to do
is back up to verses 1, 2 of the same chapter and we find that those “fathers”
were the heads of the tribes of Israel.

The apostasy has long held such
passages as Joshua 21: 43-45 as proof of their position. The true brethren consistently always dealt
with such passages by reference to Acts 7: 4-5 where Stephen declared that God
gave Abraham no inheritance in the land; and Hebrews 11: 13 where the Apostle
Paul declared that all those mentioned there,
died not having inherited the
promises, but saw them afar off. That
was good, appropriate defense, and served the purpose.

This
was additional proof that demonstrated the true application of the passages to
God speaking through Moses would have served a good purpose, and proved that
the passages had no reference to the promise of God to Moses.

The message of Joshua 21: 43-45 needs
to have it proven, first, that the passage speaks of a message given directly
to Israel from Moses. Israel
did not exist in Abraham’s day. In fact Jacob was the first Israelite (Genesis
32: 28). Moses also lived 400 years
later than Abraham, so the promises to Abraham had nothing to do with a message
from Moses. However, that message of God
to Israel from Moses is found in Deuteronomy 27: 9 through 28: 14. God’s conversation with Abraham is completely
a different matter than Joshua 21: 43-45 contains

The claims of such false teachers point to the possession of the land
of Israel in the time they possessed the land under the law. In Romans
4: 13, the inspired Apostle Paul clearly declared that the times “under the
law” were in no way related to the fulfillment of the promises to Abraham. Also, Acts, 7: 5 discourses on God making
promises to Abraham, then he says, “GOD
GAVE HIM NO INHERITANCE IN IT, NOT ENOUGH TO SET HIS FOOT ON.”

Who shall we believe? ... God? ...
Or Apostates?

Therefore, both Abraham and Christ
must be present at fulfillment. When
Abraham lived, Christ was to live two thousand years into the future,
therefore, it could not be fulfilled to both in Abraham’s time. Additionally, when Jesus lived on the earth,
Abraham had been dead for two thousand years.

It is absolutely certain that the
promise can only be fulfilled when Abraham and Christ are present on the earth
at the same time. That can only be when
Jesus returns to the earth, and Abraham rises from the dead at the end of the
age. Therefore Joshua 21: 43-45 and I
Kings 8: 56 are not in reference to the promise to Abraham and Christ.

We do find as we search the scriptures,
a message God sent to Israel by the hand of Moses (as the two passages require),
in Deuteronomy 27: 9 through 28: 14. As
long as Israel was obedient, the blessings there were enjoyed by Israel and
fulfilled to the letter. When Israel
disobeyed, the conditions of Deuteronomy 28: 15-68 prevailed. Beyond any doubt, this is what was referred
to in those passages referred to by the apostasy. The promises to Abraham have not been
fulfilled as they claimed.

Was
Israel’s Kingdom Ended Forever?

Let us consider Ezekiel 21: 25-27.
Here God declares that by three overturnings, He was ending the “kingdom
of Israel.” Notice God’s words, “... it shall be no more UNTIL he comes
whose right it is, and I will give it him.” How can it be given to
anyone if it never exists again? Therefore, we see that even as God’s speaks of
ending the kingdom of Israel, in the same verse He shows that it will again be
restored and given to Christ. The UNTIL in the verse speaks of a time when the
conditions can and will change.

This entire message was produced after
Israel did not exist as a nation any longer.
Ezekiel 1: 1-3 shows that Ezekiel was among the captives at the river
Che’bar in the land of the Chaldeans when he wrote this work. In Chapter 36, at verse 8, God begins to
speak of a time when Israel will bear fruit again. In verse 11, God even declares a future time
when He will do with Israel “better than at their beginnings..” In Verses 25-26,
God even declares a time when He will clear the filthiness from Israel, and
give her a new “heart,” and a new spirit. Verse 31 even declares that Israel
will remember her evil ways, and loathe herself. Verses 36-38 declare that at the time, the
nations round about Israel shall know that God has done these wonderful things
with Israel.

In the 37th chapter of
Ezekiel God causes Ezekiel to foretell of a resurrection (meaning a rising again)
of the nation of Israel. In Verse 11 God
shows Ezekiel a valley of dry bones (the bones of a dead nation).

Verse 11 says “these bones are the “whole house of Israel.” In verse 12, God declares “Oh my people, I
will open your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.”

In verses 21-22 God explains the meaning of the chapter when he declares:
Verse 21: “Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will take the children of Israelfrom among the nations, whither they are
gone, and I will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land.
22 And I will make them one nation in
the land upon the mountains of Israel, and one king shall be king to them all;
and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two
kingdoms any more at all.”

When has anything like this been done
since the Babylonian captivity? Are
these things expected to happen, or are they just empty words thrown into the
wind with no intentions to accomplish them?

If God does not intend to restore
Israel, why is it that the same expectations carry over into the New
Testament? Let us consider the purpose
for the birth of Jesus as the angel Gabriel explains to Mary regarding the
purpose of the child she was soon to bear miraculously.

Luke 1: 32-33: His
name shall be great, and he shall be called the Son of the highest; and the
Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father, David. And he shall
reign over the house of Jacob (Israel) forever, and of his kingdom there shall
be no end.” How can this be, the kingdom of Israel has ended forever? If that is so, the promises and prophecies of
God have no meaning at all.

Jesus, in his answer to the Apostle
Peter’s question confirms the future of the kingdom of Israel. Peter asked Jesus what the apostles would
receive for having forsaken all and followed Jesus. Jesus’ answer was:“In the regeneration, when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his
glory, ye also shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of
Israel.”

That will be the fulfillment of God’s
promise to Israel. In Isaiah 1: 26 we
read, “I will restore thy judges as at
the first, and my counselors as at the beginning.”

If the kingdom of Israel is gone
forever, then Isaiah 2: 2-4 has no meaning at all and just fills empty
space. Notice: “It shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the
Lord’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and be exalted
above the hills, and all nations will flow unto it….”And many people shall go
and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of
the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his
paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem.”

At that time Jerusalem is to be the
capital of the world (Jeremiah 3: 17).
Why would the law, and God’s word go out from Jerusalem, if the Kingdom
of Israel has not at that time, been restored? Yes, the promise to Abraham and
his Seed, Christ is just as much waiting for fulfillment as anything elsewhere in
the Bible.

The
Gospel of Jesus Christ

As New Testament time begin, Both John
and Jesus began to declare, “The kingdom
is at hand” Matthew 3: 2; 4: 17”. That
was over two thousand years ago and the kingdom still has not been established.
Therefore, how can it be that “the kingdom was “at hand?”

Jesus
answers that question for us. He
declared to the Jews in Matthew 23: 37-39: “…how
often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her
chickens under her wings, and ye would not?” Verses 38-39 “Behold, your house is left unto you
desolate…. For I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall
say, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”

Therefore, the words of John and Jesus
declared that the kingdom of Israel could be restored any time the Jesus
accepted Jesus as their savior and king. Their kingdom could have been restored
as promised in Ezekiel 21: 27. In that
passage God had declared, “It shall be
no more till hecomes whose right it is; and I will give it him.” The required condition was that the Jews
accept the one sent to them for the purpose of restoring their kingdom. However, their response was, “We will not have this man to reign over us.”
(Luke 19: 14). Therefore, their

kingdom
was delayed until after their Messiah “suffered
many things and (was) rejected by this generation” (Luke 17: 25).

The
“Gospel of Jesus Christs” is set forth as the “Gospel of the Kingdom” which was the kingdom of Israel restored
(Luke 1: 32-33). As Jesus prepared to ascend to his Father’s right hand (Psalm
110: 1-2), he instructed his apostles: “Go
ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:
15).

We must remember the gospel of Jesus
Christ is” the gospel of the Kingdom” which was nothing more than the kingdom
of Israel restored. The apostles went through the populated world, preaching
Christ’s message. The apostle Paul took
up this responsibility and his message brought him into conflict with the
Jewish world, for he was preaching the restored kingdom of God with Jesus as
the king. The Jews had already rejected the very thought of Jesus ruling over
them.

The Apostle Paul referred to the
gospel he had been preaching as “The Hope of Israel” (Acts 28: 20). There he speaks of the hope of Israel – that their
kingdom would be restored. It is a fact
that after Jesus spent forty days after his resurrection, teaching his apostle
of “things pertaining to the kingdom of God,” they were inspired by Jesus’
teaching, and asked, “Wilt thou at this
time restore again the kingdom to Israel?”
The apostles had gleaned that truth from the teaching of Jesus over
forty days. It was in harmony with the
“gospel of the kingdom,” and therefore was taught as the apostle preached the
gospel to every creature. Therefore, the
Jews had caused Paul to be sent to Jail for having preached that truth
regarding “the “Hope of Israel.”

Finally,
apostates ask us to believe that all that was planned and prepared in the Old
Testament is canceled and that the New Testament is a whole new ball game.

Consider: The promise to King David is thought by them to
be canceled, but on the day of Pentecost,
Peter told all that crowd of Jews that David knew that God’s promise meant
that God would raise up Christ to sit on David’s throne (Acts 2: 30). No, God never changed his plan concerning
Jesus.

Consider
again: God declared in Amos 9: 11-12 The Tabernacle of David was to be
rebuilt that all men would seek after the Lord.
In Acts 15: 15-18, James, the flesh-brother of Jesus, assures us that Jesus
is to accomplish that very prophecy. No, the plan has not changed at all.

Isaiah
2: 2-5 declares the earth to be the
capital of the earth, with ALL people going to the mountain of the Lord to walk
in God’s way. From Jerusalem God’s truth
and law will flow forth to all the earth, and no enemy will be left anywhere on
the earth. Paul, in I Corinthian 15:
24-28 attributes all that still to be God’s plan. No change at all from the Old Testament to
the New Testament. Wayne
R. Tanner

Israel
Dwelling SafelyWith Jesus as King

When
the Gogian Host invades.

There
are several strong points to be made that the LORD Jesus is in the earth and
has conquered the nations “round about” and established peace and tranquility
before the Gogian host arrives, for that is a pre-condition for Gog’s invasion:
that the people have returned and are dwelling in peace and safety.

Wayne
Tanner wrote this note, October, 2017:

“Notice:
Ezekiel 38: 11 declares that Russia
will come against a people gathered back from the sword, who are AT
REST, dwelling safely.

“When
will Israel dwell without walls, and dwell safely? Notice Ezekiel 28: 25-26; “They (Israel) shall dwell
safely in it, and shall build houses and plant vineyards yea, they shall dwell
with confidence, when
I have executed judgments upon all that despise them round about them ….”
(This “when” is a marker of the time when their safety is assured).

“There
it is. For Russia finding them in that condition, the “nations round
about” them of Psalms 83rd Chapter will have already suffered God’s judgment
and are a thing of the past.

“The
Saints will have also been t work with the Lord (Psalms 149: 9), for Ezekiel
38th chapter is one of God’s judgments that is written; ad
that honor belongs to the “Saints.”

Jeremiah
23: 6 proves that at the time Israel “dwells safely” (prior to the Gogian
assault), that Christ is in the land. The entirety of Jeremiah 23: 1-6 gives the details of Christ’s return to Israel.
Vs. 6 proves that His return is necessary in order for Israel to “dwell
safely,” which is prerequisite to Gog’s invasion, for Gog beholds a people
dwelling without bars or gates, dwelling in safety …

Jer 23:1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and
scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.

Jer 23:2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel
against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven
them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of
your doings, saith the LORD.

Jer 23:3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all
countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds;
and they shall be fruitful and increase.

Jer 23:4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and
they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith
the LORD.

Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a
righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute
judgment and justice in the earth.

Jer 23:6 In his days Judah
shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be
called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Jeremiah 32: 37"Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have
driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring
them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely...and I will
make an everlasting
covenant with them:"

He must return to
them personally before He can make this covenant, so when they “dwell safely,”
He is in their midst.

Hebrews 8: 8-13
gives added details which indicate that He is present when this covenant is
made…

Ezekiel 34: 23-25
proves the same point. First, My servant David becomes a shepherd to them in
vs. 23. In the next verse David My Servant becomes a prince to them. Then in
vs. 25 he makes His covenant with them and causes them to “dwell safely” in the
woods, and to “sleep in the wilderness,” an impossibility at this present time.

Eze 34:28 And they shall no more be a prey to the
heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell
safely, and none shall make them
afraid.

Zechariah 14:11 ...
"And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction;
but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited."
Comment: Although the words
"dwell" and "safely" do not appear side by side here, this
verse is the last in the description when "his feet shall stand in that
day upon the Mount of Olives." They follow upon that event!!<HEL>

Does the Exit of Britain (Brexit) from the
European Union Prove the Existence of God?

We
live in an age in which only a minority believes that God really exists.It is a fact that Bible students have
witnessed many prophecies given in the Bible that came to pass with unerring
accuracy.Only from an individual who is
able to foretell the future as God can assures us He can and could accomplish
such a thing.

For
instance, in Daniel 9: 24-27 God foretold that from a date in which a decree to
rebuild the temple and Jerusalem (457 B.C.), to the appearance of Israel's
Messiah in her midst would be 483 years.
It is a fact that 483 years from that decree, to 27 A.D. when Jesus was
anointed (Acts 10: 38) to be the Messiah (the anointed one) was exactly 483
years. Other such prophecies fall into
that same category with accurately fulfilled dates, etc. However, our interest at this time is the
prophecy given by God in a dream to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon (Daniel 2:
1-10). Daniel turned to God who showed
Daniel not only the dream but also the interpretation of it Daniel 2: 17-45.

As
Daniel’s interpretation flows forward, it is revealed that God declared in that
dream that four great Empires from Daniel's time would rule the empire over
which Nebuchadnezzar first ruled. There was to be:

1. Babylon over which Nebuchadnezzar ruled.

2. In 538 B.C. the Medes /Persians wrested the
empire away from Babylon.

3. In 332 B.C. the Empire of Greece wrested the Empire
from the Medes and Persians, an entity known today as Iran which in 1935 A.D.
changed her name.

4. In 64 B.C. Rome wrested the empire from
Greece and still rules that empire.

Our
main consideration at this time is that fourth empire named "Rome." It was revealed to Daniel that near the end
of that empire, just before the empire developed into the kingdom of God, an
entity would develop in that fourth empire that held a union of 10 kings or
powers. Those powers were depicted as
ten toes of the image of Nebuchadnezzar's dream. About 700 years later God revealed to the
Revelator John those same 10 powers and referred them as "10 horns,"
for beasts fight with their horns; also, the Roman Empire in the Revelation is
referred to as "a beast."

We
should marvel at the fact that here in our time, more than 2600 years later
than Daniel's time, a union of 10 defensive nations ("horns") did
develop in that fourth empire, just as
God prophecied over two thousand years ago, and it came to pass with unerring
accuracy.

It
is well known that for years, in his business, the writer traveled 35 states.
On November 1, 1993, the day that United Europe united, I stopped for breakfast
in Hope, Arkansas. I bought a copy of the Arkansas
Democrat/Gazette newspaper and sat down.
The Headline read, “RECESSION REIGNS AS EUROPEANS UNITE."

The
article was continued on page 5A.
Paragraph 6 of page 5A reads:

"The treaty also calls for the
nations to forge common foreign and eventually defense policies. The Western European Union, a security
grouping of 10 nations, will one day be the defense arm."

I
almost had to pick myself up off the floor.
There in my hands, as though it had jumped off the pages of Daniel’s 2nd
chapter was set out a plan for a union of 10 nations or horns within that united group of nations
just as God foretold over 2600 years ago. Who else in the universe could or did
know such a thing?

The
Western European Union was formed as
they planned and was given the power of the defense
arm of Europe with the provision that after a few years, the power they possessed would be passed to all the nations of United
Europe as was prophesied in Revelation 17:13.

The
Western European Union was brought to an end in the year 2006 and the power of
the defense arm of the empire now belongs to United Europe, and the defense arm
is now known as NATO. One can call this up on their computer by typing into
their "search" area "WEU."
Many leads will come forward and the number of 10 nations will be seen
before your eyes, and you will be looking at God's fulfillment of prophecy over
2600 years after He made that prophecy.

The Mother Lion

The
national insignia of Britain is that of a lion.
Ezekiel 38: 13 speaks of a union of "young lions" along with
the mother lion referring to the mother and the younger nations that emerged
from her. They are shown in that passage to be pro-Israeli nations speaking in
defense of her. Yet for several decades Britain had been one of the 10 nations
furnishing troops to the European defense arm, being one of her 10 kings. This
writer has projected for more than twenty-five years that Britain had to come
out of the European Common Market group, for United Europe is anti-Israeli
while Britain is shown in scripture to be a pro-Israeli nation as the three great
conflicts of the latter days begins. So
God had shown a need for Britain to make the move out of the Common Market
Union. God had foretold that in Jeremiah 51: 45 as He outlined the latter-day Babylon's destruction. God had said
in that passage: “My people, go out of
the midst of her, and deliver every man his soul from the fierce anger of the
Lord."

Britain
was God's people in that politically she was on the side of the prophecy
approved by God. Britain harkened to the
warning of God and is coming forth out of her who is to be the target of God's
fierce anger soon in the future. Only God could have known this over 2600 years
ago!

Yes,
thankfully, there is beyond any doubt, a God up there. Wayne R. Tanner

“The Mighty God” and the “Everlasting
Father”

(Isaiah
9:6)

Question: In view of the
fact that Isaiah 9:6 declares that Jesus would be known as “The Mighty
God” and the “Everlasting Father,” why do some Christians reject the idea
that Jesus was himself “the Mighty God?”

Answer: There has been a
tampering with Isaiah 9:6 of which most are unaware. Around 285 B.C.,
seventy Hebrew/Greek translators were sent by Israel to Egypt at the
request of Ptolemy, King of Egypt, for the purpose of translating the Hebrew
Scriptures into Greek, the language of the Hellenistic empire which included
Palestine.

Their rendering of Isaiah 9:6
in their translation from Hebrew to Greek demonstrates that the verse did not
originally read as we now see it. The
Greek (Septuagint, LXX)
version of the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 9:6 when translated to English
reads as follows:

“For a child is born to us, and
a son is given to us, whose government is upon his shoulder: and his name is
called the Messenger of the great counsel: for I will bring peace upon
the princes and health to him.”

It is clear that for about 400
years from the eighth century B.C., when the prophecy of Isaiah was written,
until after 300 B.C. when it was translated by Jewish scholars from Hebrew
scrolls, Isaiah 9:6 DID NOT read as we now find it in all Bibles.

It is also a fact that the
present reading of Isaiah 9:6 is a clear
contradiction of the doctrine regarding the oneness of God written by the
same inspired author.

Notice:

Isaiah 43: 11 – “I am
the LORD, and beside me there is no savior.”

Isaiah 44: 6 – “… I am
the LORD, the king of Israel and his redeemer, the LORD of hosts: I am the
first, and I am the last, and beside me there is no God.”

Isaiah 44:8 - “…
Is there a God beside me? Yea, there is no God. I know not any.”

Isaiah 44: 24 -
“… I am the LORD who maketh all things; who stretcheth for the heavens alone;
who spreadeth abroad the earth by myself.”

In addition to the above from the testimony of
Isaiah, the present reading of Isaiah 9:6 also contradicts clear New Testament witness as well.

Mark 12: 29-34, When
asked which was the “first,” that is, greatest or foremost “commandment of
all,” Jesus cited Deuteronomy 6:4, saying this is the “most important” of “all
the commandments” (NIV). The enquiring scribe agreed, answering, “…
for there is one God, and there is no other than he.” Notice that Jesus approved the statement,
commending that the man “had answered wisely.”

John 17:3 – Jesus
said, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only
true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

I Corinthians 8:6-
“But to us (the believers) there is one God the Father…”

Ephesians 4:6 – “One God
and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

As for the prophetic phrase
that Messiah would be called “The everlasting Father,” the Hebrew is abi (meaning
chief, principal, or father) and ad (meaning perpetual or
everlasting). In Adam Clarke’s
Commentary (unabridged, 1836) Vol. IV Page 65, at the end of
verse 6, Dr. Clarke states De Rossi mistakenly (or perhaps intentionally)
inserted the word abezer (father helps) in place of abi ad,
commenting, “evidently the corruption of some Jew, who did not like any
evidence in favor of the Christian Messiah.” (Clarke’s reference is
apparently attributed to Giovanni Bernardo de Rossi, a prominent Christian
Hebraist, of Jewish anti-Christian polemics, 1742-1831).

“Father” (abi) is not necessarily a
proper noun and even Trinitarians themselves do not believe Jesus to be “the
Father.” Certainly, as Abraham was given
that name by God as the “father of many nations,” so also Messiah is (will be)
the “principal,” that is, the father of the
“everlasting” age of “peace” yet to come with his reign as King on the throne
of his father David in Jerusalem. As
Isaiah continues in verse 7, “His (Messiah’s) government shall be
great, and of his peace there is no end: it shall be upon the throne of David”
(LXX).

Readers will recall that this
same sentiment of Isaiah 9:6-7 was reiterated by the angel Gabriel to Mary the
mother of Jesus. Notice the similarity, “He
shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God
shall give unto him the throne of his father David;And he shall reign
over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end ” (Luke
1:32-33). This coincides exactly with
the apostle Paul’s instruction to the men of Athens about the “unknown God”
who “has appointed a day, in the which he (God) will judge (rule)
the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained(Messiah);
whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he (God) hath
raised him (Jesus Christ) from the dead” (Acts 17:31). In this passage alone, it is evident that
Jesus is not God, but rather is “that man” who acts on behalf of the
Father by whom he was ordained and given “all power.”

Another factor is
important. All of the pronouns pertaining to LORD are singular. Not
one plural occurs anywhere. We find, “my footstool” (Isaiah
66:1), “HIS” footstool (Psa. 99: 5).
Never is there a plural pronoun such as “ours,” “theirs,” “we,” “us,” or
others. The claim of a plurality cannot
be proven.

The term Elohim, however, is plural, but the term is used when God is
manifested in others that do His bidding, such as angels, or “mighty
ones.” Moses was God to Pharaoh (Exod. 7:1). God spoke through
Moses, therefore Moses and God formed a plural, but Moses was not God.
Genesis 1:1 contains Elohim.
The Father alone is also a plural because, as Fairbairin’s Bible
Encyclopedia, Vol. 2m, p. 23 and International Standard Bible
Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 1254 explain, Elohim is appropriate
for God, for he alone possesses many attributes and manifests himself through
others.

The producers of those
encyclopedias are Trinitarians, but they admit to that truth.
Also, Deuteronomy 4: 35, 39 both say the LORD (from Yahveh, a singular, the personal name of the Father) “He is God”
(Elohim). Only God alone can form a plurality because of the multitude
of attributes that He possesses. Nearly all encyclopedias admit to that
truth.

Yes, there is clear evidence of tampering with
Isaiah 9:6 just as in 1John 5:6 where some have changed the truth of God to
suit their own subjective beliefs. At 1John 5:7, most good margins state
that this verse is spurious and has been added to the text. The
Scofield Bible at this verse makes the following footnote under
footnote #1: “It is generally agreed that this verse has no Manuscript
authority and has been inserted.”

In I
Corinthians 8:5 the apostle Paul remarked that in the world, there were gods
many and lords many. Since the doctrine of the Trinity was invented at
the council of Nicea in 325 A.D. by the Roman church, (more than six hundred
years after the Septuagint text shown above—Ed.) the clergy was
desperately in need of some “proof” for their doctrine.
Therefore, they added text of their own since nowhere in God’s word,
was there a single passage that supported their attempted coup and control of
Biblical teaching. Therefore, they
tampered with Isaiah 9:6, and added 1John 5:7 and began subjectively forcing
other texts to support their imagined triune “god.”

We must not teach “doctrines
of men,” as did the Pharisees of Jesus’ day (Matthew 15: 8-9). Wayne
R. Tanner

The NationsRound About
(Israel)

(A testimony to God’s existence)

Can it be substantiated that the Bible
was written longer than two thousand years ago?
It is a fact that there exist in the world many persons who demand that
the Bible is a forgery; that it is the work of men and not the work of
God.

If we had only the English Bible in hand, our work would be a bit
harder. However, it is a matter of
history that Ptolemy, king of Egypt requested of Israel that translators from
Israel come to Egypt and translate the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek which had
become the language of the Empire.
Israel responded to Ptolemy’s request by sending seventy translators,
who actually translated the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek. The work of those translators was given the
name The Septuagint, a name which
speaks of the number seventy which designated
the number of translators who produced the work.

The Septuagint reads exactly as the Hebrews Scriptures read, as do the
English translation of those works. All
the references that we shall quote can be compared with the Septuagint which is known to be over
twenty three hundred years old.
Likewise, the Hebrews scriptures from which the Septuagint was
translated were older than twenty
three hundred years old.

The Prophecy
of theIntent to Destroy Israel

In Psalm 83, both the Septuagint and the English Bible foretells that a number of named peoples who are
family-related to Israel are said to band themselves together with the Intent
to destroy Israel, that “the name of Israel will be no more.” It is a fact the all of those nation named in
the chapter form the population of the nations “round about Israel” today.

It is also true that all those
prophecies which relate to the “Nations Round About” date from 1000B.C. to 400B.C.
No man who was alive during the times those prophecies were written was still
alive at the time Jesus and his apostles lived. It is also true that no man has ever lived who
had the power to bring any of God’s prophecies to fulfillment. Only God has that power.

How telling it is that today, several
thousand years after those prophecies were written, we see that only the nations that exist “round about” Israel are threatening to
destroy Israel, just as those ancient prophecies foretold. Not one nation that exists far away from that
restored nation of Israel is threatening the existence of Israel. Only the nations that are “round about” Israel
are making those threats.

Zechariah 14: 14 declares that Judah
shall fight at Jerusalem, resulting in the wealth of “the nations round about”
being gathered to Jerusalem. This speaks
of the fact that only the people of the kingdom of Judah alone has been
gathered back to their land as was prophesied by Zechariah 12: 7; also that the
only “nations round about” are involved against Israel in that particular
assault.

Ezekiel 28: 25-26 declares that after
God executes His judgments on the “nations round about,” Israel will dwell
secure and safely.

Ezekiel 38: 11 declares that when the Gogian host makes the decision to
go down against the nation of Israel whose people “are dwelling safely, and are
at rest,” the nations “round about” will
have ceased to exist.

This all proves beyond doubt that only
the God of Israel, who prophesied all these things is the only Power which is
able to make those prophesies, and that only He also has the power also to
bring them to pass with unerring accuracy.

Woe unto anyone who dares to call
into question the existence of the only individual in the universe with the
ability to foretell such things, and to bring them to pass exactly as foretold.

Wayne
R. Tanner

And I SawHeaven
Opened

(Revelation 19: 11-21)

The
wording of the above title connects the text of Revelation 19: 11-21 with the
text of Revelation 4th chapter where John had previously seen "heaven
opened" and the saints going forth with the sword proceeding out of their
mouth as they preached the "Word of God" that was sharper than any
two-edged sword (Hebrews 4: 12). The informed student of God's word must not think
the sword of Revelation 19: 14-15 is the murderous sword of bloodshed and
carnal war, for again, this sword was proceeding out of their mouths as they
rode "white horses" and must be equated with preaching the Word of
Truth.

The
flow of the texts of Revelation 19: 11-21 and Revelation 4th chapters are
identical.

We see in Revelation four, Jesus
as a member of the race of man, a flesh and blood individual, who progressed on
to perfection in nature and finally sits upon a great throne over the whole
earth. The humanity of Jesus is shown forth in the Sardius or Odem (Adam) stone
which progresses into a stone most precious (Revelation 21: 11; Philippians 3:
20-21). In Revelation 19: 12-13 we see Jesus whose began life with the nature
of flesh and blood and progressing into a glorious individual with many crowns.
These figures show Jesus as a redeemed "MAN" having progressed as our forerunner into the
perfection we all hope to achieve as we put off these filthy garments of
mortality to be clothed upon with our "house from heaven" (II
Corinthians 5: 1 - 4).

The
nature with which Jesus had previously been clothed was unclean and filthy (Zechariah
3: 1-4), but he was allowed a change of raiment (nature) and we see him in
Revelation 21: 11-21 clothed in that new raiment along with those who had also
been clothed upon with the raiment from heaven. The only conflict that takes
place in Revelation 21: 11-16 sees the sharp sword proceeding from the mouth of Jesus and the
saints going forth in a way similar to
Revelation 6: 1-2; Revelation 14th chapter where the warfare was a spreading of
the word of God from a white (peaceful) horse. The warfare of death and
destruction in Revelation 19th chapter does not begin until after verse 17 as
the kings of the earth, the beast, and the false prophet come into conflict with
Jesus and the saints as Genesis 3: 15 finds complete fulfillment. Zech. 14: 5 shows the saints with Jesus even
in the first battle. The Apostasy views Revelation 19: 13 as indicating only
Jesus has already fought in battle. The servants of God reject that error and
see the truth that Jesus began life in a nature dipped in blood, then was
finally clothed upon with a house from heaven.

These truths agree with the position
with which God began that latter-day ecclesial era and for more than a century,
the ecclesia has believed the above truths in reference to Christ's nature. We
direct the reader’s attention to the last volume of Eureka under the subheadings of:

1.
TRANSLATION RESUMED

2.
THE SCENE

3.
THE TIME OF THE SCENE

4.
THE NAME WRITTEN

5.
THE WHITE HORSES

6.
TRANSLATION RESUMED

I agree with the explanation of the
visions in this portion of Eureka. It
agrees completely with prophecy as a whole, as the time of the Gentiles winds
down.

Wayne R. Tanner

An EverlastingInheritance for Israel

(Genesis 13: 15, 16)

Brethren
everywhere are advised to look around the world at conditions that are current. We surely realize that everything that is
going on in the world in which we live was foretold by God and His prophets
(including Jesus), to be events that would be taking place as God brings to an
end the world that exists today. We are
thrilled to ponder the new world that will replace this present evil world as
wonderful changes transpire.

God,
for over 6000 years, has been disappointed with the worlds that developed and
disappeared since His creation of them 6000 years ago. As a matter of fact, as God prepared to
speak to Noah in Genesis chapter 6, He caused it to be recorded in Genesis 6:
6-8 that the severe wickedness that had developed, caused God to repent of
having created man upon the earth.
Therefore, God decided to destroy that evil world that had developed.

In
2 Peter 3rd chapter we see God inspiring Peter to refer to the
"world" before the flood as "heaven and earth" which
constituted "the world.” In the
words of Peter, three different "worlds" are noted.

1.
The world before the flood,

2.
The heaven and earth (world) which is now, reserved unto fire; and

3.
The new heaven and earth (world) wherein dwelleth righteousness for which we
look, and which God has promised.

We
can be certain that God has not and does not "LOVE" the first two
worlds, or He would not reserve them to destruction by water and fire.

Yet,
the world of apostate Christendom views John 3: 16 and the statement that God
so loved the world..." as evidence that God loves this present evil world of lust, rebellion and idolatry. N0. God does not love the world that now
exists, for he warns us in I John 2: 15-17 to "love not the world, nor the
things of the world, for those things are not of God, but of the world.” God has been working toward this perfect
world referred to in I Corinthians 15:24-28; 2 Peter 3: 13,) for six thousand
years. This wonderful world of
righteousness will soon be established upon the earth.

God,
immediately after six days of creation, showed that He was very attentive to
the matter of a kingdom for before the first sin occurred, God told Adam in
Genesis 1: 28 to subdue the earth and rule it.
Sin delayed that purpose, and God has subjected mankind to six thousand
years of evil rule by man. Finally He
decided to create a kingdom among the descendants of Abraham. Sadly that kingdom rebelled against God, and
taught doctrines of men instead of God’s truths (Matthew 15: 8). However, God kept working toward a perfect
kingdom ruled by a perfected man, his Son Jesus. The kingdom of Jesus is shown in scripture to
be planted upon the restored kingdom of Israel and based on the promises made
to Abraham.

(1) It is noteworthy that throughout all
generations from Abraham until the time of Jesus, this promise to Abraham was
and still is "The Hope of Israel.”
All of the prophecies of God since Abraham have been based upon God’s promise
of God to Abraham. The fundamental
oracles of God have never departed from this expectation.

God
knew this in advance for we are told in Acts 15: 18, "Known unto God are all His works from beginning of the age."

Again,
the gospel of Jesus Christ has been based on the promises of God to Abraham.
After the kingdom of Israel came to an end, God sent his angel Gabriel to Mary
to advise her of the birth of the Son of God who would one day restore the
kingdom of Israel. However, the doctrinal expectations of almost all of the
world of religion (except those in the body of Christ), is almost devoid of any
expectation that the kingdom of God is to be the restored “Kingdom of Israel” (Isaiah
2: 2-5; Matthew 19: 27-29).

As
the angel Gabriel spoke to Mary regarding the impending birth of Jesus, the
sole purpose of Jesus is shown to be related to God's promise to Abraham, for
the angel said to Mary:

"He shall be great, and shall be
called the Son of the highest; and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne
of his Father David... and he shall reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there shall be no
end" (Luke 1: 32-35)

(2) It is also noteworthy that after the
resurrection of Jesus, Jesus spent
forty days with his apostles "speaking
of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God" (Acts 1: 3).As
we ponder this, we must keep in mind that even the men of Israel recognized and
confessed that there was no one in Israel who ever taught as this man did
(Mark. 1: 27-28). Now, consider that
this one teacher, with ability and capabilities above every other man, taught
concerning the "kingdom of God"
for forty days. Can we doubt that the apostles, after forty days, clearly
understood what Jesus had taught them for forty days?

Therefore,
let us now consider that this master of all teachers, was known to be, was
clearly understood, for his words and works were God's word and works (John 14;
10). After he had taught them for forty
days concerning the kingdom of God, and just before he ascended to the right
hand of his Father in heaven, they asked him,
"Wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?"

WHAT? Are we to understand that after
Jesus taught them those truths for forty days, the apostles misunderstood what
Jesus taught them? What Jesus taught
them, was that Israel was still in the purpose of God, and their question to
him was based on that Gospel truth. Yes! These facts verify that the “hope of
Israel” was still very much alive and well.
The preaching of the gospel of Christ that was preached to the nations
included the hope of Israel (Acts 24: 14-15; Acts 28: 20).

Also,
at the council of Jerusalem (Acts 15: 16), James, the blood brother of Jesus, quoted
Jesus regarding the purpose and promise of Jesus, "I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David,
which is fallen down; and I will build again its ruins, and I will set it
up."

This
shows that the gospel of Jesus Christ that the apostles were sent forth to
preach, included the plan and purpose of God included re-gathered Israel, for
the throne of David never had anything to do with any nation other than Israel.
(Romans 4: 13). Let us also keep in mind that Abraham
understood that the promise from God specified him as the heir of the world,
not just Israel (Romans 4:13). Therefore
the world-wide kingdom of God was to begin with the kingdom of Israel, and grow
to cover the whole world (Daniel 2: 35-44).
Also, Paul, in his epistle to the Hebrews, reminded them that even
though Abraham died having never received the promises, he surely saw them afar
off in the future (Hebrews 11: 13; Acts 7: 1-8; John 8: 51-18).

Prophecy and Promise of the Purpose of God

We
should be aware that the subject of the kingdom of God is the basis of the
gospel of Jesus Christ. The kingdom of
Christ, when it is established, will be the kingdom of Israel restored (Acts 1:
6; Luke 1: 31-35).

As
we ponder the prophetic factor concerning the scattering and re-gathering of
Israel, we are aware that God knows the end from the beginning (Acts 15: 18). Therefore, God knew when He made those promises to
Abraham what would happen at any time during the 1400 years of the history of
the kingdom of Israel; as well as what would be His response to Israel’s
rebellion. He even knew all of this as
events took place in the Garden of Eden.

With
all of this in our awareness, we are well aware of the fact that the world of
Christianity boasts of multiple millions of so called “Christians.” Yet, almost
none of the groups of "Christians" have as their doctrine, anything
to do with the restoration of the kingdom of Israel. Practically none of them support the doctrine
of “the hope of Israel.” Only a few of
us teach the eternity of the kingdom of Israel.
The doctrine of the apostasy, teaches “heaven” as the eternal home of
the righteous. Yet, Proverns 10: 30
declares that "the righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will
not inherit the earth.” Question: "Since the righteous will never be
removed, who is this that the apostasy claims will inherit heaven. Surely the wicked will not do so.

The
world of the apostasy looks to John 3: 16 as the basis of their hope, not
really knowing what it does say. They
believe when they ponder, "God so loved the world, that God dearly loved
this present evil world which included churches with apostate teachings, as
well as seven billion lustful, addictive people. Would God forbid us to love the world he
loves as in I John 2: 15-17. That world
is to "pass away.” It is reserved
unto fire (II Peter 3: 7). The world God
loved is described in II Peter 3: 13, the heaven and earth wherein dwelleth
righteousness. Revelation 3: 14 says
Jesus is the firstborn of that world, meaning he is the first one redeemed from
among men and made immortal as all future inhabitants of the world wherein
dwelleth righteousness will be.

Nothing was a Surprise to God

The
apostasy of Israel was known by God in the very beginning, and certainly right
after the Exodus out of Egypt. In
Deuteronomy 28th chapter, God warns Israel as to what would happen
to her in the event of apostasy and disobedience. Verse 64 foretells the scattering of Israel,
which was to happen in the event of her disobedience, so this proves he
foreknew of her unrighteous course, and the punishment that was to follow, and
the final re-gathering of her as an everlasting, recovered wife.(Jeremiah 3:
17-20; Hosea 2: 14-18.)

Most
religions will respond to the above, with, “do you mean that old, evil nation
who apostatized from God and murdered his Son?
Are you telling us that that evil nation will again be a nation blessed
by God? “They ask, “What do you think A. D. 70 was about?” The correct answer bewilders
most folks. The truth is, that A.D. 70 was in fulfillment of prophecy of Jesus
in Luke 21: 34 where Jesus foretold, "they
shall fall by the edge of the sword and be led away captive into all nations,
and Jerusalem would be trodden down of the Gentile UNTIL the time of the
Gentile were fulfilled.” Notice the
"UNTIL" just as the “until” in Matthew 23: 37-39 and Zechariah 12th
chapter which shows every household of Israel mourning for Jesus when they see
the nail prints in his hands. Also, what
of the "until” of Ezekiel 21: 25-27?

Question: Does God always fulfill His prophetic
promises? Most folks will agree that He
does. Therefore we ask, “What of Isaiah 1: 26, in which God
promised Israel he was going to restore her judges as at the first? He certainly has not done so yet. Jesus, in Matthew 19: 27-28 did show the
certainty of such a fulfillment, for he promised his twelve apostles they were
going to be those very, restored judges.
That event is yet in the future and it is certainly a dependable promise.

Isaiah
9: 6-7, "Unto us a child is given, unto us a son is born... of the
increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne
of David and upon his kingdom from henceforth forever.... "

We must consider the fact that no one can tell us when
Jesus sat on the throne of David, and when peace was present in abundance that
was to last forever, and if peace is a fact today. Also, Ezekiel 36th and 37th
Chapters and the valley of dry bones show the two tribes re-joining with the ten
tribes , and emphasizing verses 21 and 22 which foretell both the scattering
and the re-gathering in two verses: "I
will take the children of Israel from among the nations, to which they are
gone... and I will make them one nation upon the mountains of Israel, and one
king shall be king to them ; and they shall be no more two nations, neither
shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all."

Let
us consider Micah 5: 2 and Jesus born in Bethlehem and the fact of Jesus
bringing Israel to safety and peace as seven shepherds and eight principle men
are raised against the invader, which is surely the time when the Lord with his
saints comes to Israel's rescue (Zechariah 14: 5).

Then
there are chapters three, and chapters thirty one through thirty three of
Jeremiah, all of which demand the presence of Israel back in the land, a fact
that has not been seen for the last 2000 years until our generation. Also, Zechariah 14: 1-9 when Jesus, after
rescuing Israel, is "king over all the earth.” Also the building of the new, millennial
temple in Ezekiel chapters 40-48 with the sacrificial system restored to
natural Israel as he rules over them according to the prophecies of God's word (Zechariah 6: 13-14).

Yes, the “Kingdom of God” is the restored “Kingdom
of Israel” which will grow to fill the
whole earth, as Jesus is given the throne of his Father David to rule over the
house of Jacob, forever, “and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke
1: 32-33). Wayne R. Tanner

Have the
Stick of Judah and the Stick of
Ephraimbeen Joined as Prophesied?

The gospel of the kingdom that was preached by Jesus and his apostles
two thousand years ago was a message to the world that the twelve tribe kingdom
of Israel would be completely restored and ruled over by a one king
forever.The message which the angel
Gabriel in (Luke 1: 31-33) spoke to Mary as he informed her of the impending
birth of Jesus, verifies that very important purpose of God.Notice:“Thou shalt conceive in thy womb
and bring forth a Son, and shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great, and
shall be called the Son of the highest; and the Lord God shall give unto Him
the throne of His father David; and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever,
and of His kingdom, there shall be no end.”

Most religious-minded students of the
Bible are aware that Jesus came “preaching
the gospel of the kingdom” (Matthew
4: 23). Both John and Jesus, in
their approach to the Jews stated “The
kingdom is at hand” (Matthew 3: 2; Matthew 4: 17).

That statement is a mystery to most Bible students, for that was over
two thousand years ago and the world-wide kingdom of God as described in the
scriptures still is a matter of expectation.

The mystery vanishes as we consider Jesus’ message to those Jews in
Matthew 23: 37-39. In that message,
Jesus tells those Jews, “... how often would
I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth her chickens under
her wings, and ye would not.”

This tells us the kingdom was at hand. Jesus was offering to restore the
Jews’ kingdom, but their attitude was, “We
will not have this man to reign over us” (Luke 19: 14). It was known from the beginning that this
would be their response (Acts 15: 18).

Therefore,
Jesus knew the restoration of their Kingdom would have to be postponed. Few
Bible students associate the New
Testament “kingdom of God” with the restoration of the kingdom of
Israel. How can there be any doubt
whatsoever? The angel’s message to Mary
(Luke 1: 31-33); and Jesus’ answer to Peter in Matthew 19: 27-28 prove that fact
beyond question. Luke 19: 28 shows the
answer to Peter’s question to be, “when
the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon
twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

That will be the fulfillment of God’s promise to Israel in Isaiah 1: 26
which reads, “I will restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counselors as at the beginning.” Likewise, as Jesus was taken to heaven from
the midst of his disciples (Acts 1: 3-7), and after forty days, being taught of
him of the “kingdom of God,” they asked him, “wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to
Israel?”

His answer
to them did not indicate that the expectation that the kingdom would be
restored was wrong. His only answer to them was that the time of
that restoration was known only to God, and that he could not answer their question
as to the time.

Likewise, Paul declared in Acts 28: 20 that “for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.” Had Paul not
been preaching the restoration of the Kingdom of Israel (Acts 25: 6-7; Acts 24:
14-15; Acts 26: 6-7) the Jews would not have falsely accused Paul. Also, if Paul’s preaching of truth did not
encompass the doctrine of the restoration of Israel’s kingdom with Jesus as King, he would not have
been accused by the Jews.

Is the Doctrine
of the Restoration of the Ancient

Kingdom of Israel
a Fundamental Truth?

Yes, it is certainly a fundamental truth, a truth that finds no place in
the teaching of apostate religions of the world. Of over four hundred religious groups in The United States, we know of no none other
than ourselves who hold that important doctrine. All others we know of
reject it. There is a group of so-called
“witnesses” who no longer knock on our door, who reject that the kingdom of Israel will ever be restored.

It
has long been known that they once believed in the restoration of Israel’s kingdom,
apparently because Isaiah, Ezekiel and Zechariah refer to prophecies of that
fact very often. However, it is also
known that they came to believe that the forecasts of those prophecies were
fulfilled in the return of the people after the Babylonian captivity as
recorded in Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai and Micah.
Such an idea proves to be a serious error when we consider the following
facts.

It is a fact that only the tribes of Benjamin and Judah constituted the
kingdom of Judah. Not all twelve tribes
were taken captive to Babylon. The
northern ten tribes went into captivity to Assyria over a hundred years before
the Babylonian captivity, and only that two tribe kingdom returned to Israel,
not all twelve tribes at all.

In Ezekiel 37th chapter Ezekiel is shown a valley of dry bones
awaiting a political resurrection. Those
bones are the whole house of
Israel, not just two tribes of Israel.
In Ezekiel 37: 16, God tells Ezekiel to take in his hand one stick
representing the ten tribes of Northern Israel and a second stick representing
the Southern two tribes of the kingdom of Judah. Together the two stick means 12 tribes. In verses
21-22 God sums up His meaning. He says: “Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will take
the children of Israel from among the nations, to which they are gone, and I
will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land. And I will
make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel, and one king
shall be king to them all, and they
shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms
any more at all.”

We have to ask: Is it proper reasoning to take a prophecy of what is to happen
with twelve tribes, and proclaim it to be fulfilled by an event that involved
only two tribes? That is the sort of
reasoning that leads to apostasy.

Every
prophecy in Isaiah, Ezekiel, Haggai Micah etc., speaks of the restoration of
the whole twelve tribe kingdom of
Israel, not just two tribes. One of the
sticks in Ezekiel’s hand represented ten tribes; the other stick represented
two tribes. This prophecy requires the restoration of twelve tribes the same as does Matthew 19: 28. The togetherness of two tribes does not in
any way relate to God’s forecast to revive the twelve tribe kingdom of Israel.

Isaiah 61: 4-11 proclaims a wonderful future for Israel, even an
everlasting covenant between God and Israel (verse 8). Consider chapters 61 through chapter 66 and
the wonderful things foretold for that restitution. That “everlasting covenant” mentioned there
and elsewhere proves not to be so everlasting, if it be true as the apostasy
declares – that no covenant with them will ever be everlasting again.

Also, the inspired Apostle Paul in Hebrews 8: 7-13 settles the matter
once and for all. More than thirty years
after Jesus left the earth to go to his Father’s right hand, Paul carefully
speaks of the old covenant which God had made with Israel ... and speaks
further about another Covenant which God is to make with Israel in the future.

Notice in Hebrews 8: 8, 10, God speaks first of his old covenant with
Israel which no longer exists, then says:
“Behold, the days come, when I
will make a new covenantwith
the house of Israel and with the house
of Judah…” Verse 10- “For this is the covenant that I will
make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord: I will
put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts…”

This is all still in the future, not in the past. Who shall we believe? Shall we believe God? Or
apostates who have wandered astray?

Finally, in Zechariah 12: 7, it is recorded, “The Lord shall save the tents of Judah first,” indicating that the
salvation of all the others will follow later.
Beyond a doubt, this speaks of the fact that the rest of the tribes shall
join Judah in her salvation, and that the twelve tribes of Israel will once
again take their place in the land which they are to possess as an everlasting
possession (Genesis 17: 8. Wayne R. Tanner

All That arein the Graves

(John 5:
28-29)

Isaiah
26: 13-14 clearly declares that non-covenanted persons will never rise from the
dead; and Jeremiah 51:37-39, 56-57 declare the same truth. Also, I Thessalonians 4: 16-17 declares that
it is the dead “in Christ” who are resurrected from the dead. Importantly, the gospel of Jesus Christ
teaches that only baptism of believing persons constitutes being “in Christ”
(Galatians 3: 26-29; Mark 16: 15).

In
spite of the above truths, John 5: 28-29
reads that all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and come forth,
either to the resurrection of life; or to the resurrection of damnation. Immediately, after noting the above facts, it
is often believed by some that the Bible contradicts itself. Also, practically the entire world of
religion, on the basis of the phrase “all that are in the graves,” has adopted
the false doctrine of universal resurrection, which supposes that everyone who
has ever lived will be raised again from the dead. What is the problem here?

The
usual terms translated “grave”, are the Hebrew “sheol” (Ecclesiastes 9: 10) in
the Old Testament; and the Greek “hades” (I Corinthians 15:55).

However,
the Greek term translated “grave” in John 5: 28 is neither “sheol” nor “hades.” Young’s
Concordance as well as Thayer’s Greek
Lexicon show that the term translated “grave” at John 5: 28 is the Greek
term “mnemeion.” Both render the term to mean “memorial” or “remembrance.” Again, Scripture clearly shows the existence
of graves which will not be disturbed as Jesus descends back to the earth.

In
opposition, the Apostle Paul in Romans 6:3-5, explains the fact and meaning of
baptism into Christ. In Verse 5 Paul
declares: “If we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we
shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection.”

Therefore,
all who die after a valid baptism into Christ, are said to be sleeping in a
grave marked for remembrance – therefore a “mnemeion,”
meaning a memorial grave marked for remembrance. This means, just as Jesus
remarked, “All in a mnemeion will hear his voice and shall come forth…” Therefore, the dead in Christ shall rise
first (I Thessalonians 4: 16). “Then we who are alive shall be caught up
together…”

Truly, as Jesus remarked, “All who sleep in a memorial grave shall hear his voice and shall come
forth….”

We must be aware that it
is written in Psalms 78:38-39, speaking of faithless Israelites at the time of
the Exodus, were as “a wind that passeth away and cometh not again.” So it is with all unbelievers (Mark 16: 16).”
Wayne R. Tanner

For
the Hope of Israel (1)

Acts 28:20

The
entire Bible holds that Israel holds a special place in the plan and purpose of
God. Although the kingdom of Israel was
brought to an end (Ezekiel 21: 25-27), Believers hold that a bright and
wonderful future awaits the nation of Israel.
Most of the religious of the
religious world denies that Israel has any more to do with anything in the
purpose of God.

Jesus
is shown to be the seed of Abraham who is to possess forever, all the land that
Abraham could see (Genesis 13: 13-14 with Galatians 3: 16). The promise to
Abraham in Genesis 13: 13-14 defines the territory of God’s kingdom.

The
promise f Genesis 15th and 17th Chapters concerns “seeds as of many.”
Two Tribes are in the land now. As for the Ten Tribes, where are they?

The promise to David regards the government for the
world-wide kingdom of God. It is also
from the throne of David (which is the throne from which Israel was originally ruled),
from which the world is to be ruled
in the “kingdom of God” (Zechariah 14: 9; II Samuel 7: 10-15; Acts 2: 30). Also, in Luke 1: 26-35, as the angel from God
announced to Mary that she was to bear the Son of God, the angel associated the
purpose of God regarding Christ, to the throne of David and rulership over “the
house of Jacob” which is the “house of Israel.”

Why
is this so, if Israel has no further purpose in the plan of God? This passage declares the association of the
house of Israel with the eternal purpose of God in Jesus. The Temple at Jerusalem is called “the house of prayer for all people (Isaiah
56: 6-7; Isaiah 2: 2-5; Jeremiah 3: 17).

To deny the
restoration of the kingdom of Israel is to deny the setting up of the kingdom
of God, for Israel will be the capital of the world-wide kingdom of God (Luke
1: 32; Jeremiah 3: 17.

Consider
Acts 28: 20 and the “hope of Israel.”
Mark 16: 15-16 shows that apostles were sent to preach the gospel to
every creature. Paul joined the effort,
and he would not have preached the restoration of Israel’s kingdom, had that
subject not been a part of the gospel they were to preach. Note that John came preaching the
gospel of the kingdom (Matthew 3: 2).
Jesus did also: Matthew 4: 17, 23. Therefore, the gospel of Jesus Christ
is the gospel of the kingdom.

How
was the kingdom “at hand” as Jesus told the Jews? Matthew 23: 37-39 reveals how “the kingdom
was at hand.” It was being offered to
them, but they did not want it from Jesus.

Their belief was that when their Messiah came,
he would restore their kingdom, and set them free from Rome. That was the “hope of Israel.” (See also Acts
1: 3-6). Also, in Acts 24: 14-15; 26:
22, the Apostle Paul declared that he had neither believed nor preached
anything other than “the prophet that Moses has said would come.” Apparently, since he was imprisoned because
of the “hope of Israel,” he was therefore, preaching the hope of Israel, that
is, the restoration of their kingdom.

Since
he believed and preached the same that was preached by the prophets and Moses,
let us examine the message of the prophets of Israel regarding Israel and her purpose in God’s plan.

Since Zechariah 14:
9 declares Jesus to be the king “in that day,” how large is the area of his
kingdom? Psalm 72: 8 says, “His dominion
shall be from sea to sea, from the river unto the ends of the earth”, in other words, His dominion is the whole earth.
Compare Romans 4: 13.

Act 15: 15-18. “I will return and build against the
tabernacle of David, that the rest of men…” Why so, if Israel has no more to do
with God’s plan? Notice also, it will happen “when He returns.

Jeremiah 3: 17
Jerusalem: the throne of the Lord. ALL the nations gathered to it.

Jeremiah 31: 17,
31-35 God and Israel.

Jeremiah 33: 14-26
God and Israel.

Isaiah 2: 2-5 ;
Psa. 48: 2 “All nations shall flow into the Lord's house.” “Out of Zion shall go
forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem,” Beautiful for
situation, the joy of the whole earth.”

Isaiah 56: 6-7- A house of prayer for all people.”

Ezekiel 36th
Chapter: the conquest of the nations.

Ezekiel 37th
Chapter. He shall join sticks of Judah and Israel together

Ezekiel 20: 35-40 - God shall join all Israel together as
one nation, one king shall be over them

Zechariah 12: 7 -
He shall save tents of Judah first.

Ezekiel 38th
Chapter - God gathered them back from the sword.

Jeremiah 3: 7-19 -
Israel returns to be God’s wife.

Hosea 2: 14-23 - Israel
returned to God who speaks tenderly to her.

Yes,
Paul preached the same message as the prophets and set forth “the hope of
Israel.”

The
kingdom of God will cover the earth with Jerusalem as the capital of the kingdom, which shall cover the entire earth! (Jeremiah
3: 17). Wayne R. Tanner

For
theHope
of Israel (2)

God
created the earth and immediately declared
His interest in a kingdom upon the earth (Genesis 1: 28).

Adam
failed the test to be the ruler of the earth and all that was upon it. Thus,
God began to think toward a plan B which worked toward a second Adam (Who was Christ I Corinthians 15: 45). God’s plan
allowed for an early kingdom of God upon the earth. Such a kingdom was in preparation as he made the
promise to Abraham that concerned the
territory of the kingdom; and a promise to King David regarding the government of the kingdom.

After two thousand years of toleration of
pagan belief and activity upon the earth, God thought to make a two-fold covenant
with a man named Abraham.

The first portion of that covenant concerned a
plan that covered eternity; it pertained to Abraham and a future descendant of
Abraham named Jesus (Galatians 3: 16), who also would be the son of God. That
covenant is found in Genesis 13: 14-15.
Galatians 3: 16 declares that the covenant was not to the fleshly
descendants of Abraham, but to Abraham
and Jesus Christ and all who would be a part of a multitudinous Christ (Galatians
3: 29).

The
other consideration of the covenant concerned the fleshly descendants of Abraham and a kingdom that would begin
after those descendants had been in bondage for four hundred years, after which
a servant of God (Moses) would lead them freedom – and to a special Land
prepared for their kingdom.

This
kingdom existed upon the earth as “The Kingdom of Israel.” Because of extreme disobedience and
rebellion, God divided that kingdom into two nations and finally ended the
existence of the kingdom, promising to restore that kingdom in the future, for
God had promised that the kingdom would constitute an everlastingpossession of
the righteous (Genesis 17: 7-8).
Therefore everlasting possession would be a feature of the everlasting kingdom
of God.

Of
the four hundred or more “religious” denominations that we view today, only one
of those denominations believes and teaches the restoration of that
kingdom, although God clearly foretold the restoration of the
kingdom. A couple of other denominations
teach the restoration of that kingdom, but they also teach the error that after
one thousand years of that kingdom, the earth is destroyed and all the
righteous are taken into heaven for
eternity. That contradicts the fact that God had promised that the possession
of the land on which that kingdom would be restored, would be an everlasting
possession.

Also, Proverbs 10: 30 declares to the
righteous will never be removed from the earth.
Jesus himself declared in Matthew 5: 5 - Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Psalms 37: 29 says, “The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever.”

A
number of the four hundred religious denominations claim that I Kings 8: 56 and
Joshua 23: 13-14 prove that the promises made to Abraham are declared by God to
have been completely, and totally fulfilled to the letter.

However,
both those passages state that that which was said to have been fulfilled were promises spoken to Moses, and not to
Abraham. They concerned those things
concerned the division of the land and how the nation would fare in their own
land. The promises to Abraham were
clearly declared to be an everlasting possession. Acts 7: 3-5 clearly declares that God gave
Abraham no part of the land for a possession, not even the size of his
foot. Hebrews 11: 13 also assures us, that
Abraham and the others “died in faith,
not having received the promises, but saw them afar off (into thefuture).”

It
is, therefore a grave error to believe and teach that those promises have been
fulfilled, and do not await fulfillment shortly into our future.

Therefore,
we have examined the territory
involved in God’s plan for Israel, and for the everlasting kingdom of God.

However,
any kingdom must also have a king ruling
over the kingdom. David was God’s
favorite king over the kingdom of Israel during its first period of existence. God made a promise to King David regarding a
king for the future and throughout eternity.
We see that promise in II Samuel 7:10-17. The certainty of fulfillment
is found in Psalms 89: 20-37 where God promises to honor his covenant.

A
King is referred to and promised in this passage. What was God saying in the chapter, and who
is the promised King? In Acts 2nd
chapter, the apostle Peter stood up and addressed the multitude of Israelites
concerning that King and His Kingdom.

In
Acts 2: 29 - 30, Peter tells us what God said in II Samuel 7: 10-37 Note: “David, being a prophet, and knowing that
God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to
the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne .”

So,
Jesus, the Son of God is the king who shall sit on David’s throne forever.

The
kingdom of Israel came to an end, (Ezekiel 21: 25-27) and that land laid waste
for nearly 3000 years with no king on any throne. Nearly every religious community proclaims
that Israel is gone forever, and will never have a part in God’s plan and
purpose again.

Is
that true, or is it an error to be rejected?

QUESTION: Was the shutdown of the kingdom of Israel a final shutdown, or was it declared to
be temporary? Notice the words of Ezekiel 21: 27 –“I will overturn, overturn, overturn and it and it shall be no more UNTIL
He come whose right it is…”

Matthew 23:38-39 –
“…your house is left unto you desolate… and you shall see me no more UNTIL you
shall say, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”

So,
we see there is an “until” involved. It was not an eternal shutdown at all.
There is a time set for “the restitution of all things spoken of by the holy
prophets since the world began.”

God
promises in the O.T. that His promises
are fully guaranteed. Isaiah 61st chapter;
Ezekiel 36th chapter and Ezekiel 37th chapter all
prophesy the restoration of Israel’s
kingdom and her king.

The Dead Shall beRaised
Incorruptible

(I Corinthians 15: 52)

The
Apostle Paul wrote, in 1Corinthans
15:52 - In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the
trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall
be changed.

If a person is not well informed
regarding the vital subject of resurrection and judgment, to them I Corinthians
15: 52 might be understood to say that the
dead rise from the gravealready
having put on incorruption and immortality.

The
problem with such a conclusion is that in 2 Corinthians 5: 10, the inspired Apostle
Paul declares to the Ecclesia at Corinth that: “We must all appear before the judgment
seat of Christ, that every one may receive things done in his (Christ’s) body,
according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”

In
other words, each person must “stand” (Revelation 20: 12) before the judgment
seat in order to receive a reward for what we have done.

That cannot be accomplished in the grave where there is neither “work
nor device ... knowledge or wisdom” (Ecclesiastes 9: 10).

Also, in Matthew 25: 31-46, the Apostle
Matthew shows that after the righteous (verses 25: 34-36) are dealt with; and
the rejected are dismissed, verse 46 declares: “And these shall go away into
everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.”

Now
it is a definite truth that the judgment seat of Christ is not in the grave,
but is to happen above ground – upon the
earth.

Also, Revelation 20: 12-13 clearly says that the dead “stand” before
the judgment before they receive the
change of nature. It does not happen in
the grave; rather, it happens after the resurrection.

Strange to some, that is what Paul is teaching in 1 Corinthians 15:
35-55.

Again,
the term “the dead” does not always refer to persons who are without life and still
sleeping in the grave. We see for
certain in Revelation 20: 12 where John writes that he saw the dead “stand”
before God, and the book of remembrance (Malachi 3: 16) – and the book of life
are opened (Revelation 20: 12) are opened.

It is impossible for dead persons to stand. Therefore, John saw persons
who had been dead, but had now been resurrected to life, stand before the
judgment seat. That is Paul’s meaning in
I Corinthians 15: 52 where he saw those dead who were “cast out” (of the
ground) as a natural, flesh and blood person in verse 42.

Since
that nature cannot enter God’s
kingdom (verse 50), he shows that a further raising up to a different,
acceptable nature has to occur (verses 52-54).
That is why Jesus when he returns from heaven, resurrects the dead, and changes
the saints’ lowly, vile bodies to be like his own glorious body, to possess an
incorruptible, immortal nature (Philippians 3: 20-21).

With what Body do they come?

Paul, in I Corinthians 15: 35, suggests
that some will ask, “With what body do they come?” As Paul begins to address
the question that some may ask he refers to the profession of farming, and the raising
of grain. For well over three thousand years, Israel had been an agriculture
civilization. He knew his readers would
understand his meaning.

Paul
reminds the Corinthians that that which is made alive is similar to the grain
that is planted in the ground. After the stalk has developed from the seed that
was planted, the old seed that was planted cannot be found, for that grain of
seed has developed into the stalk that is standing.

The expected grain that develops
is not attached to the seed that was planted, but is now on the new stalk that has
emerged and is above the ground.

So
it is with the natural, lowly body that emerges from the ground; the body which
rises from the ground is changed to a body raised up from corruption and
mortality to incorruption and immortality (I Corinthians 15: 50-54). At that point “death is swallowed up in
victory” (verse 54).

In verse
37, Paul begins to use the principle of “sowing seed.” That is because in those days, long before
the era of modern machinery, a farmer sowed seed by having a sack of seed
hanging around his neck. He would reach
into his bag, and bring out a handful of seed and cast it out of his hand onto
the ground. I witnessed my father doing
that many times.

It is vital to know that God, through Isaiah 26: 19 declared, “The
earth shall cast out the dead.” That was what was understood by “sowing” seed
in those days of ancient agriculture.

Again,
verse 37 declares that “the body” that comes from the grave is not ‘THE BODY
THAT SHALL BE,” meaning the future incorruptible, immortal body, but a body
that is “corruptible” and “mortal” and which has yet to put on incorruption and
immortality (verses 53-54).

The
immortalization of Jesus also was after his resurrection. He did not come out of the tomb already in
possession of his Father’s nature. This is evident from John 20: 17. Jesus
evidently had the defilement of the grave still upon him as Mary rushed forward,
seeking to touch him. His words to her in verse 17 are very meaningful, even if
hard to understand. His words were: “Touch me not: for I have not yet ascended
to my Father.But go to my brethren,
and say unto them, I ascend to my Father and your Father, and unto my God and
your God.”

Evidently,
the change happened after Mary left him, for later, when he appeared to the
disciple in John 20: 17, Jesus invited Thomas to touch his side and see that he
really was the crucified One. Why could Mary not touch him, when Thomas was
invited to do what Mary was forbidden to do? The answer is that the grave,
according to the Law of Moses (Numbers 19 16), defiled a person and required
the person to undergo a cleansing process. Mary would herself have been defiled
if she had touched him. If Jesus had already ascended to the divine nature (2
Peter 1: 4), the defilement would have already been removed and Mary would have
been able to touch him just as Thomas did.

Also,
Mark 16: 12 declares that “afterward, He appeared to them “in another form.”
Therefore, scripture proves that a change of nature occurred after Mary left
him, not while he was dead inside the tomb.

Also,
one might ask, to what was Jesus referring as he stated, “I have not yet
ascended to my Father?” It was a fact
that Jesus did not ascend to heaven where his Father was until more than a
month later. It is recorded that Jesus
was with his apostles for forty days, teaching them of things pertaining to the
kingdom of God (Acts 1: 3). He had ample
time personally to tell his apostles that He would be ascending to heaven.

Therefore,
the ascent mentioned in John 20: 17
certainly was that Jesus was about to ascend to the divine nature of his
Father. That ascent made it quite “legal”
for anyone to touch him, for defilement is not present in anyone that possesses
the divine nature. This being true, it
is clearly shown that Jesus did not rise from the dead already in possession of
the divine nature.

Jesus is also our forerunner
(Hebrews 6: 20). Therefore, what he
experienced prior to us, we shall experience as we tread the same path that he travelled.

Therefore, we must clearly understand Paul’s true statement that the
dead do not come forth from the grave in possession of “the body that shall be”
(Verse 37). Paul stated in Verse 43 that
the dead rise “a natural body.” For six
thousand years, men’s “natural body” has been an unclean (Job 25: 34), i.e., a mortal body (Romans 5: 12).

The
life of all men for the last six thousand years is expressed by the Greek word psuche
which is translated ”life” 40 times, and
mind 3 times. The phrase translated a
“natural body” in I Corinthians 15: 42 is “soma
psuchikon,” that is, “a body natural.”

Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, page 677 says of “psuchikon: belonging to the psuche; borrowed from Genesis 2: 7; governed by the psuche; the principle of
animal life, which men have common with the brutes; the sensuous nature with its
subjection to appetite and passion as though made up of nothing but psuche.”

A natural body is possessed by seven billion
people on the earth today. That will be
the nature of the body that is “cast out” of the earth in the resurrection, which
may then put on incorruption and immortality.

Wayne R. Tanner

We
Shall Not all Sleep

1 Corinthians 15: 51

It is unfortunate that I Corinthians
15: 52 the text is often mistaken to mean that the dead come out of their
graves incorruptible and immortal, a teaching known as Immortal Emergence.

In believing in “immortal emergence”
from the grave, a person has to deny the important, fundamental doctrine of the
“judgment seat of Christ.”

Matthew 25: 31-46 shows those there
will be some from every nation being judged
by Christ. In verses 34-37, Jesus
addresses and accepts the approved.
Then, in verses 41-43 Jesus addresses and rejects those not
approved. Now notice that in verse 46,
Jesus declares that those who are approved “go away into everlasting life,” while
those who are not approved “go away into everlasting punishment.” That does not happen as one emerges from the
grave! It happens after being examined at the judgment seat. 2 Corinthians 5: 9: “For we must all appear before the judgment
seat of Christ that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according
to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”

Can anyone imagine the folly of
believing that if we emerge from the
grave already in possession of the divine nature (2 Peter 1: 4), that we, as
immortals, still have to be judged in order to receive a reward for what we have
done? Away with such foolishness! It does not happen as one awakes from the
dead. Notice carefully that in
Romans 14: 10-12, verse 12 clearly says, “So, then, every one of us shall give an account of himself to God.”

Again, can anyone believe that if we approved and glorified coming out of the grave, that we still have to give
an account of ourselves before God?
Scripture declares in Luke 20: 36 that when one is approved and
rewarded, that such “are equal unto the angels.” Can it be thought that an
angel has to give an account of himself to God?
Neither shall we, after obtaining the divine nature (2 Peter 1: 4).

Therefore,
what is Paul Saying?

It is important to consider from I
Corinthians 15:35-55 that God is inspiring the Apostle Paul to compare the resurrection
to eternal life to the raising and harvesting of grain. All Israelites, long before the advent of modern
machinery, knew that in the sowing of grain, a farmer simply reached into his
bag and CASTS OUT the seed upon the ground as in Isaiah 26: 19, “the earth
shall cast out the dead.”

Paul uses the term “sow” very often in
his reasoning on this matter of the earth “casting out” the dead in the resurrection.”

In
verse 42, Paul says the resurrection body is CAST OUT in corruption (just as it
now) then RAISED to incorruption.

In Verse 43, Paul says it is sown (cast out)
in dishonor, then (after judgment) raised in glory. He also says it is sown (cast out) in
weakness, then raised in power.

In
verse 44, Paul declares the resurrection body is sown (cast out) “a natural
body.” The Greek phrase for “natural
body” is “soma psuchekon.” Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, on page 677,
declares that “soma psuchekon” means
“the principle of animal life which men have in common with the brutes” (compare
Ecclesiastes 3: 17-20).

Therefore, a natural body means a flesh and blood body as in I Corinthians 15:
50 – one that cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Therefore, says Paul by inspiration, that a
person’s nature must be raised from that “natural body” state to the incorruptible
and immortal state as in verses 53-54.
The term “raised” in verse 52 is the Greek “egiero,” not anastasis
as in verse 42. To stand up from a sitting position is “egiero;” to raise one’s arm to a different position is also “egiero.”

The term “raised” in verse 52 causes some
to associate the term with being “raised from the dead,” which the term “anastasis” would mean. Paul is clearly
showing that since the resurrection body cannot inherit the kingdom without
being changed, it must be “raised” from that natural state to that of the
divine nature (2 Peter 1: 4). Verses 51-54 considered together teaches that
very thing. Verses 51-52 show that it happens to those raised from the dead at the same time it happens to those who are
alive and remain for it says it happens to both “in a moment in the
twinkling of an eye.”

So Paul does not say it happens to the
dead as they arise, but that it happens to those who are living later on. No! It
happens to both in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (I Corinthians 15:
51-52).

Immortal Emergence is an apostate
theory and must not be tolerated in the Ecclesias. The Apostle Paul in I Thessalonians 5: 21
instructs us, “Prove all things, hold fast that which is good.”Wayne R. Tanner

Was Jesus the
Angel of the Lord?

The
title question can be answered as “Yes,” for even mortals who served God
throughout the history of the world have had the same words applied to them as
is applied to the angels from heaven.The Old Testament Hebrew word
for angel is “Malak;” and the New
Testament Greek word for angel is “Aggelos.”

It
is a fact that in 2 Peter 2:4 , Peter refers to the evil “Korah” along with his
evil followers by the term “aggelos,”
since for a while,they had been helpers of God in the affairs of Israel
(Numbers 16: 8-9).

However, we see from Numbers 16th chapter
that Korah sought to get certain Israelites to do his own will rather than the
will of God. Peter in his epistle refers
to those rebels as “angels that sinned,” and says they were cast down to “tartarus” (a deep abyss) to await the Day
of Judgment. Notice Numbers 16: 32- 33: “And the earth opened its mouth, and
swallowed them up, and their houses, and the men that appertained unto Korah,
and all their goods …. They and all that appertained unto them went down into
the pit, and the earth closed upon them …”

We find also that the Hebrew term for angel was applied to John the Baptist
in Malachi in Malachi 3: 1; as is the Greek term aggelos in Matthew 11: 10. In both passages, the terms are translated
“messenger.” Jesus was likewise a messenger of God in the greatest sense. Therefore, Jesus was, in fact, the Malak as well as the Aggelos of God.

However, Jesus was never the Malak or Aggelos of God sent from heaven
to appear to men upon the earth during
Old Testament times.

Members of the apostasy are known to teach that
Jesus was the “angel of God” sent from heaven on a mission for God, as in
Judges 2: 1, 4; Genesis 3: 11; 14:19.
They say that “the angel of the Lord” was none other than Jesus the
Christ in every occurrence of the phrase. See footnotes (1), (2) and (3) of Scofield’s New Translation of the Bible.

What does Scripture
Say About That?

The Apostle Paul makes several denials
of the claim that Jesus was formerly one of the angels, per se.The apostate
theorists failed to notice that their doctrine was a denial of Bible
truth.They, therefore, were in ignorance
of the fact that their position fell into the error which Paul foretold in II
Timothy 4: 4 – that the apostates would be turning God’s truth into fables.

Hebrews 1: 5 clearly denies the fable
of Jesus formerly being an angel, when he asks the pertinent question, “To which of the angels said he at any time,
Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee and again, I will be to him a
Father, and he shall be to me a son?”

Therefore, we ask any apostate to
answer Paul’s question. To which angel
did God ever say either of the two questions in Hebrews 1: 5? Paul’s point
clearly is that God never said that to any angel, only to Jesus. This tells us
clearly that Jesus was not formerly one of the heavenly orders of angels who
encamp around the throne of God.

Again in Hebrews 1: 13 Paul asks, “To which of the angels said he at any
time, Sit thou at my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool?”

Certainly,
if Jesus was the “Angel of the Lord” of Old Testament times, the fact that
Psalms 110: 1, which speaks of Jesus, would mean that God did say to one of His angels these words, and the Apostle Paul’s
point falls flat and was an absolute lie. Since God inspired the Apostle Paul
to make these points, the truth is that Jesus never was one of the angels, and
it is Scofield’s point that falls flat and is without truth.

Was Jesus apart of a
Trinitarian God?

After Jesus left his disciples and
ascended to his Father in heaven, the disciples did as Jesus had commanded them
and traveled through the Pagan world preaching the “gospel of Jesus Christ.”
The apostles knew that the Pagans they would encounter worshipped gods many and lords many (I Corinthians 8: 4-6).

Paul,
after expressing that fact, declared in verse 4, “there is no God but one,” and
in verse 6 Paul declared, “But to us (the believers) there is one God, the Father,
of whom are all things and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are
all things, and we by him.”

It is vital to know that the word “by”
in the above verse is translated from the Greek term “di” which is translated from the Greek “dia” which absolutely means “through,”
as it is translated in the Emphatic
Diaglott. It is “through” the work of Jesus and his sacrifice, that we can
obtain salvation. The passage, therefore
declares that there is only one God by
whom are all things; and one Jesus Christ through whom are all things.

Again, this inspired Apostle expressed
the seven pillars of wisdom’s house (Proverbs 9:1; Ephesians 4: 4-6), that
there is only “one Lord” (Jesus: verse 3); and “One God” – verse 6). The vital message that there is absolute
agreement through the Old Testament;
and the New Testament; is noted by
the Apostle Paul as he calls attention to the fact that the Old Testament (Romans 15: 4) was written
for our learning.

Since that is correct, it is proven
by God’s own words that the Old Testament
message concerning Himself is in complete harmony with New Testament expressions.

Let
it be recognized that Trinitarians are quick to point out that the term “God”
in that passage is “Elohim” which is a plural, and say that it refers to a plural God.

In this, they are in ignorance of the fact that encyclopedias
published even by Trinitarians explain that “Elohim,” when referring to God, “... awakens attention to the infinite
riches and the inexhaustible fullness which are contained in the one divine Being;
so that if men might imagine innumerable Gods and invest them with perfections,
these should all be comprised in the one Elohim….” (Fairbairin’s Imperial Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. iii, page
23)

Let
us now hear more of God’s own testimony concerning Himself:

Isaiah 43: 11 “I, even I, am the Lord, and beside me there is no savior.” (Notice the singular pronouns “I” and “me.”)

Isaiah 44: 6 “I am the first, and I
am the last, and beside me there is no God.”

Isaiah 44: 8 “… Is there a God
beside me? Yea there is no God; I know not any.” Notice again the singular
pronouns. There is no plurality with the God of Israel, except regarding His
plurality of attributes.

Isaiah 44: 24 “… he that formed thee
from the womb; I am the Lord that maketh all things; who stretcheth the heavens
alone; who spreadeth abroad the earth by myself.” Again, there is no plurality with God all the
way through the Bible. The only
plurality that is found to be “fables” concerning Him, and concerns those who
have turned away their ears from the truth and have turned unto fables, meaning
“things that are not true”– Webster
(2 Timothy 4: 4).

Wayne R.
Tanner

Out of Zion
Shall go forth the Law

... and the
Word of the Lord from Jerusalem

Isaiah 2: 2-4

Conflicting
plan and purpose

The
plan and purpose of the Palestinian occupation of the Middle East are not that there is to be a two-state presence in the land of Israel. The vision of the Palestinians is that
there shall not be a single Israelite left in the Middle East; and that only
Palestinians will continue to exist in what is now known as “The Land of Israel.”

All
Jerusalem, the Palestinians expect, is to be the capital of the Palestinian
state.

However,
the plan of Israel, backed by the United States, is that only Jews and
Israelites shall be occupants of the ancient land of Israel. That plan and purpose is vividly shown to
also be the plan and purpose of the God of heaven. The prophecies of God certainly show this to
be His purpose in the Middle East.

It will be recognized that our title above, comes from Isaiah 2: 2-4. A
reading of those three verses informs us of the existence of the following
conditions at the time of the fulfillment of that prophecy:

“A
mountain” Scripture foretells of a great earthquake
which forms that mountain as Jesus goes forth against the enemies of Israel.
The last nine chapters of Ezekiel describe a great and high mountain around
which is to be built the millennial temple.
(Ezekiel 40: 2; Zechariah 14: 10;
Matthew 4: 8 (that mountain is not yet in existence); Isaiah 66: 20;
Isaiah 56: 7.

“God’s
temple, or house around the mountain”.
(Ezekiel Chapters 40-49; Isaiah 56: 5-7; John 2: 15-16; John 14: 1)

Every
latter-day prophecy regarding Israel depicts the fact that every nation in The Middle East and many other locations is a hateful enemy of Israel with the
desire to destroy her (Zechariah 14th chapter; Psalm 83: 2-9; Ezekiel
28: 20-26). The events of the latter
days leave Israel in complete safety with no Islamic enemies left to desire her
destruction.

Obadiah
1:18 foretells that in those latter-day attempts to terminate the nation of
Israel, there is not one descendant of Esau left in existence. Throughout the
history of Israel, she has been at odds with the descendants of Esau.

Likewise,
the balance of Israel’s kindred enemies is outlined by name in Psalm 83:
6-7. These nations constitute “The
Nations Round About.”

In
Psalm 83: 9-12, God decrees that of all those named nations, it is to be done
to them, just what the early Israelites had done to the Midianites.

In Numbers 31: 7, we learn that early
Israel completely slew “all of the males of the nation of Midian.” Therefore, the “Nations Round About” Israel
will no longer exist. We also are aware
from Ezekiel 28: 25-26, that when God has executed His judgments of the ”Nations
Round About” Israel, Israel will dwell
safely and will prosper greatly. We
also learn that Russia later finds Israel in the ‘safe’ and ‘confident’ position
as she makes her advance against Israel (Ezekiel 38th and 39th
chapters). But the Gogian host is also utterly destroyed...

Then one more battle will ensue before the world is forever a safe and
peaceful planet toward which God has been working for six thousand years. In that, we speak of the troops of NATO, the
defense forces of Europe, which will finally move against Jesus and his saints,
because they shall think he is “the anti-Christ.”

After
those forces are utterly defeated (Daniel 2: 34-35; Revelation 17: 14), it is
prophesied: “They shall not hurt nor
destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge
of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 11: 9).

The immediate result of the title
action is that “... round about the throne there was a sea of glass (still waters, meaning a
still, peaceful population) like
crystal, and round about the throne were four living creatures (meaning
immortal creatures) full of eyes before
and behind (meaning all-seeing ones).” (Revelation 4: 6). These represent
the Cherubim of Ezekiel one, and will spread and consolidate the sovereignty of
the King, Jesus, as the nascent kingdom expands throughout all nations.

Wayne R. Tanner

Have
the Promises toAbraham been fulfilled?

Anyone
who has debated that subject of the Kingdom of God with the Church of Christ
has had to refute the false doctrine that teaches that the promises to Abraham
were completely fulfilled in Old Testament times. Below are passages they quote
in the effort to prove their claim:

I
Kings 8: 56 - “Blessed be the Lord, who hath given rest to
his people, Israel, according to all that he promised; There hath not failed
one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses.”

Joshua
21: 43-45 – “And the Lord gave unto
Israel all the land which he swore to give unto their fathers; and they
possessed it and dwelt in it.” … And the Lord gave them rest round about
according to all that he swore unto their fathers…. There failed nothing of all
the good things which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to
pass.”

As
Moses was about to die, he spoke the following words to Israel: Joshua 23:
14-15 - “… NOT ONE SINGLE THING HAS
FAILED OF ALL THE GOOD THINGS WHICH THE Lord your God spoke concerning you; all
are come to pass unto you, and not one thing has failed thereof.”

It
is vital that we take particular care to notice that every one of the above
passages mention things that were said to Moses, and unto Israel; not to Abraham. When the above passages speak of
promises to the “fathers,” the “fathers
of the tribes” at the time of the Exodus is meant (Joshua 14: 1). The above passage speaks only of promises God
spoke to Moses concerning Israel in the land.
Not one of above passages speaks of things said to Abraham.

We
should take notice of the fact that all of the passages above speak of Israel’s
inheritance in Israel “under the law.” The inspired Apostle Paul makes the strong
point in Romans 4: 13 that “the promise
that he should be heir of the world was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through
the law, but through the righteousness
of faith.”

If it is true that those promises were
fulfilled under the law as Israel possessed the land, then the inspired Apostle
Paul was not so inspired after all. However, if we ignore apostate claims and
believe the word of God, it is clear that the Apostle Paul was fully inspired.

We know that the writer of the Acts of the Apostles,
records in Acts 7: 5: “And he gave him no
inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on; yet he promised that
he would give it to him for a possession. and to his seed after him, when as yet
he had no child.” This proves that the eternal promises – those with lasting
substance – had not been fulfilled at the time when Luke penned the Acts of the
Apostles.

Again
the inspired Apostle Paul wrote in Hebrews 11: 13: “These all died in faith, not
having received the promises but having seen them afar off, and were
persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers,
and pilgrims in the earth.”

Therefore,
who shall we believe? Shall we believe apostate opponents of the truth; or the
inspired word of God? As for me and my
house, we shall believe the pure truth of the word of the God of Israel.

Wayne R. Tanner

Defining the Soul

(What
is it?)

The subject of the soul has suffered more violence from the world of religion than
most other subjects. II Timothy 4: 4
foretold that the Ecclesia of Christ would experience a turning away their ears
from the truth and turning unto fables. This prophecy has come to pass as we see in the
apostate doctrines of world religions.

Let us peruse the account of the creation of
Adam, the first man, and see if the popular idea of a separate and immortal soul
is scriptural. We believe that the idea
of such a soul is one of the worst errors to be found in the world of religion.

In Genesis 2: 7 we read:“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul” (underlining
is mine).

There is no way around the truth that what was formed
of the dust “became”a living soul. There is no indication that Adam receiveda “living soul.” Adam
himself became a “living soul.”

It is vital to know that the term “living soul”
is a translation of the Hebrew phrase “chai
nephesh.” Adam was not the first “chai nephesh” that had been created,
for, in Genesis 1: 20, we find the phrase “chai
nephesh” in the statement “every living creature that moveth.” Again, in Verse 21 we find “chai nephesh” applied to every animal
that moveth; and every fowl that flies. Therefore, scripture informs us that Adam became exactly
what every other living thing had become, “a
chai nephesh.”

The belief held by those in the apostate world
of religious thinking, that the soul is a separate entity within the body of a
man, constitutes “the doctrine of men” (Isaiah 29: 13; Matthew 15: 9), and
their description of the soul of man, cannot be found in the truth of God.

3.Animals
have souls - Numbers 31:28 – “souls of men, of persons, of oxen; of asses and
of the sheep.

a.Jesus said in Matthew
26: 38- “My soul is exceedingly

sorrowful,
even unto death’. These
things happen in the mind, proving that the terms “mind” and “soul” are synonyms.

Never do the scriptures
speak of a soul that cannot die. There
is one passage of Scripture, which believers in an immortal soul interpret

to
mean a deathless soul, and that is Matthew 10: 28 where Jesus is

thought
to have said that no one can kill the soul.

That certainly is not Jesus’ meaning, for in the
same verse Jesus told his apostles, “fear
him who is able to destroy both soul and body.”

No being can destroy that which cannot be
destroyed.

The literal meaning of Jesus’ words may be
understood by comparing this scripture with Luke 12: 4-5. “…be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more
that they can do… Verse 5- “But I forewarn you whom ye shall fear. Fear
him who, after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell.”

The term “hell” in the above passage is “Gehenna” which speaks of the fiery “Valley
of Hinnom” south of Jerusalem in which a continuous fire was kept burning for the
destruction of refuse and waste [it
perpetually burned because waste and trash were being continuously added as
fuel – Ed]. The passage has no
reference to the imaginary burning hell of apostate belief.

Now that we have seen the actual meaning of
Jesus’ warning, no one has any excuse for believing that Jesus’ reference in
Matthew 10: 28 had reference to an indestructible, immortal soul. The Bible knows nothing of such an imaginary soul.

Therefore, both man and beasts, as well as fowl
of the air are “chai nephesh.” All constitute a soul. When either beasts or men die, Solomon, in Ecclesiastes 3: 19 declares, “what befalleth man, befalleth beasts.” And verse
20 says, “all go to one place ... all are of the dust, and all turn to dust
again.”Becauseof these truths, Psalms 49: 20 states:
“Man
that is in honor, and understandeth not is like the beasts that perish.”

We must
take note of the fact that believers in the different nature of man and beasts perceive that Ecclesiastes 3: 21 is teaching their beliefs, instead of the
truth that the nature of men and beasts are the same. Notice what Solomon did say: “Who
knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast
that goeth downward?”
It is a challenging question only, and not a statement of divine
truth. He had just stated that both go
unto one place. Thus, he is showing the
pagan belief to be just that, a false, pagan belief. Wayne R. Tanner

“I Will
Be Who I Will Be”

Exodus 3: 14, in response to Moses' question as to who was sending him to Egypt to lead Israel to freedom, God, through His angel replied: "Eyeh asher Eyeh" which, when correctly translated says, "I will be who I will be."

It is evident in Exodus 3: 12 that the Hebrew
term “Eyeh” means “I will be.” In that
phrase, the one-word “Eyeh” is
translated by three English words, “I
will be.”

In this one chapter
we find evidence of God being identified in whomsoever He manifested Himself.

Notice
verse 6 where the angel (Exodus 3: 1- 2; Acts 7; 30), said: “I am the Father of Abraham, the God of
Isaac, Jacob, and the God of Jacob.”It is a known fact that the
individual who was in the burning bush was an angelic being – not the literal
Father of Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob.

God,
who no man has seen (John 1:16), was and is the Father of those three Israeli forefathers. But Yahveh in heaven was “in” the angelwho was
speaking to Moses from the fiery bush, and the angel was representing God as he spoke.

Again,
in Exodus 14: 19, we are told that God’s
angel was in the cloud that went
before Israel. Yet, in verse 24 it says
that “God looked unto the host of the
Egyptians through the pillar and the cloud.”

Was this a falsehood, or the truth, since it
was the angel of God that was in the cloud?

The
fact is, that God was in the angel that went before Israel (Exodus 23: 20-21).

Therefore,
as the angel looked unto the Egyptians, it was true also that God looked unto the Egyptians, for God was in the angel. For one to see the angel was to see God also, for they were both present just as in Exodus
24: 10.

In
that passage we are told that seventy Israelite elders and Moses “saw the God (Elohim) of Israel.” Since God was “in the angel,” the angel and Yahveh himself formed a plural. Thus they saw a plural, for God was there
also, but they literally saw only the
angel in whom God was manifested.

Therefore,
the truth of the phrase “I will be who I will be” was put
into reality, for to see the angel, was to see God, for God was doing the works
which the angel performed, just as in the
case of God's being in Jesus and working in Jesus (John 14: 9, 10).

The
same principle is seen in 2 Corinthians 5: 19 where this phrase explains, that “God was in Christ,reconciling the world unto Himself.”

There
is an exact parallel of this concept expressed in Acts 2: 22:“Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus
of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs,
which God did by him in the midst of you...”

Since
God was working “in Christ” to see Christ perform those miracles, we clearly
see God performing those miracles for Jesus, Who confessed that of himself He
“could do nothing” (John 5: 30).

Therefore, Exodus 3: 14 was God’s
promise to mankind that He would at various times, appear to the prophets, to kings,
to His Son, to his Son’s disciples, and to others.

Someday
in future time He will even appear
Himself personally when God will be “all
in all” (I CorinthiansHe H
15: 24-28 and Revelation 21: 3-4). Wayne R. Tanner:
Posted May 10, 2019

Are God
and Jesus Forgeries?

The
national news recently reported that more than a hundred or more churches are
closing each month because church attendance has declined nationwide. Jesus foretold two thousand years ago (Luke
18: 8), that when he returned he would scarcely find the faith for which he and
his apostles were responsible. Likewise,
the apostle Paul in I Timothy 4: 1-3 foretold that in the “latter times, some shall be depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing
spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy.”

Who
could have known this and foretold it two thousand years ago, and have it come
to pass with unerring accuracy, other than someone who was more than an average
person living upon the earth? Only God through
His servants could tell the future in such a manner.

One
other Person in the history of mankind has demonstrated the ability to foretell
future events to come upon the earth, and have those forecasts come to pass
with such unerring accuracy that they cannot deny. That one Person is Jesus Christ the Son of
the God of Israel in whom God manifested Himself (II Corinthians 5:19).

No
so long ago, persons driving on I-35 through Milwaukee, Wisconsin, suddenly approached
a large sign that read:

“No
one died for our sins;

Jesus
Christ is a myth.”

If that
sign holds forth an ounce of truth, then perhaps those who erected that sign
can explain the fact that only God and His Son foretold future events; and not in one instance has one of those
forecasts failed to come to pass exactly as was foretold many hundreds of
years ago, except a few which clearly still await fulfillment.

Several
Forecasts of God Himself

It
would be very easy to begin in Genesis, examining types and shadows foretelling
future conditions, but there are so many that are found in the latter portion
of Old Testament times, that we will
consider several of those.

Around
600 A.D. God delivered the rebellious kingdom of Judah into captivity to
Babylon. While Israel was there in captivity,
God gave a dream to king Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, which foretold the course
of his and succeeding empires for the next 2600 years. Daniel, God’s prophet, revealed to
Nebuchadnezzar not only exactly the dream’s content but also what his dream had
foretold. How amazing it is that for
more than 2500 years, events of the empire have followed the exact pattern laid
out in Nebuchadnezzar’s dream.

First, God showed the king that
throughout the many years of future history, exactly four empires would have
control over that region.

We ask this question, as we look back
over the twenty-five hundred years of that region, how many empires have
maintained control over that area? Why exactly
four empires have controlled it, just as was foretold in 600 B.C. How
amazing is it, that three of those empires, together, (1. Babylon; 2. The Medes
and Persians; 3. Greece), ruled it for six hundred years. The fourth one (Rome)
was said to control the region longer than the first three empires all put
together. Rome which later developed
into Europe still holds the dominion over its people and will continue until a
fifth kingdom (the kingdom of God) is set up in its place.

Doesn’t
anyone wonder why, during those twenty-five hundred years, only those four empires
ever gained control? For twenty-five
hundred years, the prophecy has followed the exact pattern that the king Nebuchadnezzar
saw in his dream that God sent to him.
No other empire ever entered into the picture. No man could have foretold that and brought
it to pass as it actually happened.

Three
thousand years ago, in Psalm 83:1-10; and again 2400 years ago in Ezekiel 28:
25-26 and Zechariah 14: 14, God foretold that the specific, named nations “round about” Israel would
band together in an attempt to destroy ”Israel’s” existence. How interesting
that now, three thousand years later, in the Middle East only THESE nations are
daily threatening to destroy Israel’s very existence. Where are all those
nations that threaten to destroy Israel? How amazing that those very nations are
all the “nations round about Israel.”

What man knew all of this three thousand
years ago, and was able to bring it to pass three thousand years later? The answer is obvious, and only the fool says
“there is no God” (Psalm 14: 1; Psalm 53: 1).

The
Appearanceof Israel’s Messiah

While
the two-tribe kingdom of Judah was captive in Babylon, God revealed to the
Prophet Daniel how long it would be until Israel’s Messiah (the Anointed One) would
appear in their midst. How does He do this?

In Daniel 9:25, God reveals to Daniel a
number of weeks. Even apostate Bible students, who often deny that “a day” in Bible
prophesy represent a year, agree that in this prophecy a day represent a year,
for none of the time periods given saw anything happen within the number of
literal days specified that would fulfill the prophecy. Such critics mention
three different decrees relative to the rebuilding of Jerusalem while ignoring a fourth date in which
such a decree was given.

Counting from one of the decrees given
to rebuild Jerusalem would make Jesus to have been forty-five years old as he
was crucified. A second supposed date would have made him a teenager at his
crucifixion. A third one also makes him
the wrong age at his crucifixion, which the scriptures reveal as thirty-three
and one-half years.

There
is another one which brings us to his crucifixion at the age of thirty-three
and one-half years. That one was given by the Persian king in the year 457 B.C.
The seven weeks and sixty-two weeks
of verse 25 amounts to 69 weeks (483
years); calculation of those years brings one to 27 A.D., the year when Jesus
was baptized by John and verbally approved by the Almighty’s thunderous voice
from heaven, “This is My Beloved Son, in
Whom I am well pleased,” (Matthew 3: 17) making Him “the Anointed One” (Acts
10: 38).

What
man ever lived who could have foretold exactly four hundred eighty-three years in
advance the exact time when Jesus
would become Israel’s Messiah? But God
did! Therefore, we recognize the only Person in the universe who possesses
that ability, the God of Israel.

Finally,
though there are many other instances, consider Ezekiel 21: 25-27. God grew
very tired of Israel’s rebellious ways and announced to her that he was, for a
considerable period, bringing her kingdom to an end.

Through three “overturnings,” God ended
her kingdom.

The first overturning was to break up the
twelve kingdoms, forming two separate kingdoms.

The
second overturning was in sending the Assyrian forces, taking the northern kingdom
hostage into Assyria from which they never returned.

Overturn number three was Babylon coming
into the land around 600 B.C., taking Judah captive. There has been no Israeli kingdom since that
time until the modern day. Judah returned to her land but was always ruled by
foreign kings until again dispersed.

In
Ezekiel 21: 27, God says Israel’s kingdom “shall be no more until
He comes whose right it is, and I will give it Him.” That was 2600
years ago, and no king has restored Israel’s throne and kingdom during all that
time.

What man knew that the kingdom would not
be rebuilt for over two thousand years?
Only God knew, and he kept it from happening until these end-times, just
as he announced over two thousand years ago.

The Bible knows of literal 24 hour days,
of the day-for-a-year principle, and of a thousand-year millennial day (Psalms
90: 4; 2 Peter 3: 8). In Hosea 6: 1-3
Israel was informed that her smiting would
end after two millennial days and that she would be revived in the third day. We now are well into the third millennia day
since Israel’s smiting. Her great spiritual revival is about to happen as God
promised it would (Ezekiel 37:11-22; Luke 1: 32-33).

Was
Jesus Sent by the God of Israel?

Jesus
often declared that he was sent by God, his Father (John 4: 24; John 14: 10; 2
Corinthians 5: 19). Jesus often foretold
of events to come, just as his Father did.
Whatever he foretold has either come to pass, or is yet due to be
fulfilled, for a few thing he foretold are
yet to be fulfilled. Let us take notice
of some things he foretold, that came to pass with unerring accuracy.

In
Matthew 23: 37-39, Jesus told the Jews who rejected him, that their dwelling
place was to left desolate “UNTIL” they accepted him.

In
Luke 21: 24 Jesus declared that the Jews would fall by the edge of the sword,
and led away captive into all nations and Jerusalem would be trodden down by
non-Jewish people (the Gentiles) “UNTIL” the times of the Gentiles are
fulfilled.

See Ezekiel 21: 27 for another “UNTIL”
which shows that an end to the punishment against Israel was to come to an end.

And
these references are perfectly parallel with Micah 5: 1-3!

Jerusalem
was in fact trodden down by Gentiles for close to two thousand years. The Jews
that were in Jerusalem in 70 A.D., when Rome surrounded and destroyed the city,
were scattered into every nation under the sun. In 1517 A.D., the Ottoman Turks
invaded the Middle East as foretold in Daniel 11: 40-45. The Turkish ruling
house held Jerusalem until 1917 when the English army drove the Turk out of
Jerusalem and out of Palestine in preparation for Israel to establish her rulership
over the land once again.

Therefore, we see that the “UNTIL”
mentioned by Jesus in Luke 21; 24 and Matthew 23: 39 was by special, meaningful
design – and fitted into God’s forecasts quite beautifully.

Yes,
every word of the Bible can be proven not to have been written by anyone except
by Him who foretold it all hundreds and thousands of years in advance, and
lived much longer than any man has ever lived; and brought every prophecy to pass with unerring accuracy.

Soon upon this earth, those who deny the
existence of God, and the facts concerning the Son of God will be removed from
existence. However, the God of Israel will rule the whole Universe throughout eternity. Contrary to the self-appointed
“philosophers” who paid for the false Milwaukee signage, God and his Son Jesus DO exist,
and will continue to exist, and will rule the entire earth forever, and forever.Wayne R.
Tanner